TES III: Destiny
by Shadowfang3000
Summary: "Do as you wish, but none can define me." - Looting through the remains of Redoran's Retreat a day after clearing it, two close adventurers stumble across a peculiar woman - as well as the dastardly tale behind her existence that could tear their friendship apart. A follow-up to "The Daily Round", and the third story in my TES Series!
1. Everybody Lies

**Destiny**

**(A/N):** Now this is a plot idea that I was interested in trying out for quite some time!

I've been debating with myself as to how to continue the TES fic series for quite some time from my widespread selection of ideas, yet following the crappy ending of "_The Daily Round_" it almost seems perfect to lead into this one!

The concept of the story is inspired by an episode of the show "_Red Dwarf_", more specifically the episode "_Camille_" from the fourth series. If you've seen it you'll probably understand what I'm getting at here - and why I couldn't help but try it out xD

Let's see how this goes. My first attempt at a somewhat more complex story than usual, so... Good luck me ._.

**WARNING**: Spelling errors, plot holes, OCs only, inaccurate portrayals of the Daedric princes, some language, a hell of a lot of ellipsis's, purposeful cringe worthy corniness, and a racist Argonian!

**Chapter One: Everybody Lies**

**"I assure you, Redguard."** Wonders insisted, peeking around a rock formation like a timid young child spying on a stranger at the doorstep. The desert man in question remained at his six, his fists buried into the deep pockets of his ragged robes. Continuing on-point, the Argonian mage glanced back as his tongue stabbed at the air. **"It's pronounced **_**'Raid-Dough-Ran'**_**"**

**"**_**Raid-Dough-Ran**_**?"** the wanderer repeated in a mocking tone, replicating his companion's accent with all the compassion that a butcher shows to a leg of lamb. The magician was talking bollocks as usual, or his name wasn't _Stradlater_. The catacombs of _Redoran's Retreat_ seemed just as twisty and turny as they had been before, the now uninhabited cavern resembling the extensive intestinal track of a Forsworn sacrifice**. "Sounds like one of those dragon words the Dovahkiin uses."** Stradlater pointed out, nudging his comrade's back to help him scale a sudden steep incline.

That got the Argonian to grin - the sort of feral, predatory grin that made all but the bravest of men shudder from natural instinct. **"**_**Exactly**_**, see?" **he pointed out, hoping that the Redguard saw his point of view. Of course, relying on the meat-headed warrior to think with the same creativity as him was like expecting a Khajit merchant to hold up on a trade deal. **"Supports my other theory - tenfold, yes?"**

All his words deserved was a half-arsed shrug. **"You mean your **_**'theory'**_** that he's actually Tiber Septim from a time warp?"** he reflected, recalling Wonder's words after he'd had twenty pints too many. The Argonian usually started trying to eat people when he was drunk, so he was more than willing to sit down and listen to his rambling to stop them getting shunned from another hold. The Redguard pointed at the mage's satchel, prodding at it with a hammy finger. **"Because I swear, you ripped that right out of one of your books."**

**"No I didn't."** Wonders hissed, swinging his satchel to his front. Like a shy schoolgirl with her head bowed, he tugged at its strap. **"... I thought of it before I read that one..."**

**"Come on."** Stradlater beckoned, shuffling ahead. At last they'd reached the expansive clearing of the main chamber, where the objective of their trip was located - a collection of chests. Wonders, in his greed, was adamant in returning to the _Retreat_ to pick it clean of loot and plunder, having missed out on the opportunity the day before. The desert warrior folded his arms, glancing left and right across the room - no werebears or the sort making a nest, thank the pantheon. **"Let's get this over with already; I'd prefer to be back at the **_**Mare**_**."**

Peering across the room, Wonder's inquisitive eye caught sight of the goldmine within moments. **"What for?"** he asked, pacing towards the set of containers and grabbing a knee. Turning to face his colleague, he teasingly hovered his hands over his chest, puffing out his robes to resemble the bosom of your average Imperial lap dancer. Of course he was thinking about a certain barmaid, **"... The **_**tankards**_**, hmmm?"**

Stradlater leant over to the deserted bedrolls, reaching for an unlit lantern and striking it alight. While the Argonian had downed enough tonics and cateyed potions in the past to cut through the darkness with unblinking eyes, he wasn't so magically inclined. **"The **_**tankards**_**."** he grumbled in response, holding the flickering light source aloft. **"You sick lizard, you."** he scoffed. Watching the magician cup at his baggy-clothed chest would've gotten him all hot and bothered, if only he was into smelly reptilian racists with all the charm and social grace of a pubic louse.

_Fortunately he wasn't so inclined._

_Unlike a few of the pub regulars._

Swiveling from his position, Wonders began the arduous process of picking at the lock of the largest chest. He'd made sure to purchase a surplus from the general store at Whiterun - two-hundred individual picks to be exact. **"I'm not sick."** he hissed in reply to the Redguard, who stood by his side with his lantern-light casting shadows. **"I visited that shrine in Whiterun, I'm perfectly fine. Got a note."**

At times like this it was best to ignore the magician, and so Stradlater did just that. With a grunt of effort the desert nomad slipped onto the floor, leaning his achy back against the curve of the cavern walls. They almost seemed naturally designed for comfort - they meshed into his shape like the cushion of a sofa. **"Are we carrying this,"** he pointed at the chest **"or are you just going to have a rummage?"**

**"Please, my friend." **Wonders snickered in mock offence, placing the side of his head against the lock. He must've been using his ears, yet the Redguard couldn't spot anything that remotely resembled the hearing implements on his person. **"I thought you knew me."** The Argonian flinched as there was a click, and after an awkward moment of silence he popped the container's lid wide open. **"... **_**You're **_**carrying it. Now let me check what's in it first."**

Stradlater rolled his eye - a feat that looked rather silly with just the one. **"Of course."** he agreed, making no effort to even protest. Laying back in place, he let the magician dig through the box like a child at the Hearthfire on his birthday, his teeth bent in a manner that almost resembled a joyful smile. The air was heavy with dampness, and Stradlater couldn't help but be bothered by it. **"You know, there's one thing that's off about this place."**

**"Hmmm?" **Wonders mumbled absently, sounding like a housewife appeasing her child as he buried his head into his loot. His voice almost seemed to echo within the confines of the container **"What's that?"**

_Why, the mammoth in the room of course._

The Redguard pointed to the middle of the clearing. **"The corpse."** he said calmly, gesturing at the smouldering remains of the bandit chief that Wonders had fried to death merely hours ago. No doubt his two followers had fled in the early hours of the morning, meeting up with other bandits, or meeting their end _by_ other bandits.** "It's moist in here. He's starting to smell up the joint."**

Wonders exhaled irritably. **"I was raised in a marsh, you were raised in a dung heap."** he pointed out, his nostrils flaring in ignorance to the stench. He was certain the hard-arsed Redguard could tolerate a bit of stink, what with how much sweat he produced by the gallon. **"What are you, a mer? Want your blankie? Some warm milk? Walk it off."**

Stradlater couldn't help but settle on a word, bouncing the lantern haphazardly on his knee. **"... I thought you called the marsh a lake."**

Caught off guard, Wonders quickly went for a stock response.** "... Needs must."**

_Pow, right in the patriotism._

The rattle of picks in locks continued for minutes to come, the green-skinned humanoid digging through chest after chest to check for riches. Of course the Argonian was quite the hoarder - so far he hadn't discarded a single bit of loot, be it a lump of charcoal or the ten-billionth set of leather boots three sizes too small for the both of them.

Stradlater busied himself with thoughts of what he could do with his share of the gold - 10% if he were lucky, 2% if he were realistic. He'd likely buy some premium smithing tools from the old Skyforge at _Jorrvaskr_. He wouldn't dare let Eorlund Graymane be the one who tended to his aged Orcish plate armour.

_It was his gear, and his to preen._

A gust of wind whooshed through the catacombs, the rattle of skipping stones and settling dust echoing down the walls and brushing by his hooded ears. Stradlater leant his head back, letting the sounds of nature surround him in ignorance to the rustling of his companion.

In time, he heard a whimper.

Within moments it grew louder, accompanied by gentle sniffles that would fit the face of a crying young girl. The Redguard sat up in confusion, wondering if his sleep-deprived brain was finally beginning to lose it. Tugging at his head wrappings he lowered his scarf, ruffling his muddy-brown hair and listening intently. Placing his palms against the dirtied walls, he held his breath and focused.

Wonders blinked audibly, watching the scarred man as he shimmied against the wall like a window-licker in a bakery. **"... You contacting your home planet again?"**

Stradlater snarled, glancing back for a fraction of a moment before returning to his bizarre ritual. **"Can't you hear that?"**

After a brief stare off, the Argonian's eyes spun back to his work. **"I can hear you talking, the sound of wind, my talons clicking, my temper **_**rising**_**..."** he pulled out another boot, bit on its toe-cap testingly, then tossed it back in with a disgusted _'bleugh'_. **"Be a bit more specific, Redguard."**

**"Whimpers."** He frowned, backing away from the wall. The sounds became quieter as he backpedalled - as if they were coming from an opening behind it. **"I can hear **_**whimpering**_**."**

The Argonian clearly couldn't care less, continuing to fork through his goods. **"Hmph."** he sneered, uncorking a vial and hovering its neck by his nostrils. His tongue peeked from his maw dubiously, stabbing at the air in consideration. **"I hear nothing of the sort."**

_What a load of chitins._

Stradlater glared at him irritably, hunting for the glint of lies that frequented his eye sockets. So imagine his surprise when no such glow appeared. He'd known the Argonian for quite some time, and with that he tended to know whether he was lying or not. Silent-He-Wonders honestly couldn't hear anything, yet the noises continued to grow. Growling in frustration he hobbled back to the wall, his charred hand clutched tightly to his scabbard. **"Keep talking. I'll find you."** he said to the air, resting his head against the wall.

**"I'm right **_**here**_**."** the magician pointed out dismissively, sneakily slipping a pink-coloured tonic of dubious function under his robes before diving back into his supplies.

**"Not **_**you**_**."** the Redguard grumbled, continuing his determined, misled hunt for wisps and echoes.

Wonders took this moment to consider the actions of his comrade in arms. True, if he were a common dog such hallucinations would be a signal that he needed to be put down, yet the Redguard did show decent intuition every now and then. A secret opening probably meant more gold, and if his experience with tomb raiding was anything to go by then a pile of chests out in the open would be nothing more than a decoy to convince the common adventurer that a dungeon was clear. The real loot could be something grand - a slightly larger potion, or boots with a low level enchantment or two. Affectionately patting his snout for such an ingenious deduction, he swung to his feet and sauntered over to Stradlater. **"Check for straight cracks."** he recommended, moving to his side and tapping at a stony outcrop with the tip of his claws. **"Not in your skull, in the wall."**

**"Thanks for the tip."** The warrior groaned, side-stepping to give his colleague some room. With an outstretched arm he gestured to the opposite end of the space,** "You take that side, I'll take-"**

**"Or I could just find it."** Wonders suggested, kneeling down and digging his long, scaly fingers under a small overhang. He glanced back at his foolish companion, who responded with an eyebrow raised higher than a skooma addict in the Cloud District. **"You know, **_**here**_**."**

After tugging at the ground for a moment, the wall suddenly began to turn as if it sat on hinges. In a moment's time it opened like an inverted drawbridge, revealing a pitch-black cavern before them. Wonders folded his arms arrogantly, licking at his itching nostrils much to the Redguard's chagrin. Stradlater tilted his head to peer under the door, briefly glancing back at his companion. **"... What do you want, a sweet roll?"**

**"I want a lot of things, Redguard."** Wonders said dramatically, tilting his own head to gaze into the shadows. Awkwardly he patted his friend on the shoulder, before backstepping away cautiously. **"If you, uhh... Find any **_**gold**_** in there, you know who to call."**

_That was expected._

Reaching for the lantern that sat nestled on the floor, Stradlater tied it loosely to an open loop on his belt. Grasping onto his blade once more for comfort and inspiration, he tentatively entered the darkness surrounded by his glowing aura. He fingered at the ribbons of his blade hilt, widening his eyes to take in whatever light he could find.** "... Hello?"**

**"Me, you call **_**me**_**."** Wonders called from the pile of chests, watching with mild interest from the relative safety of the main chamber. **"... You know that, right?"**

Stradlater offered his companion the universal signal for "_Shut up, you daft Argonian bastard_." with an extended middle finger, before continuing his treacherous advance. The whimpering had strangely remained at the same level of volume for the past few minutes, no matter where he stood. He pressed his back against yet another dusty wall for balance, feeling along the path. The adventurer raised his voice to pierce the blackness,** "Anyone?"**

It stopped.

The sudden silence was deafening, in its own contradictory way. If it wasn't for the rustle of Wonders digging through his containers barely metres away, the feeling of isolation would've been overwhelming. With his lantern's light so limited in its reach, the small room almost seemed infinite in its size - and for all he knew, that could've been the truth.

It was only then that he noticed breathing. The timid sort of breathing you'd expect from someone who'd been whimpering for a good ten minutes and had finally lost their enthusiasm. Stradlater was no inspector, but with his own deductive skills this was certainly a sign. As was the fact that this breathing was in front of him. Right in front of him.

Without warning a pair of frail white arms wrapped around his leg weakly. It was an embrace; one of a lost soul begging for comfort and protection. Stradlater unhooked the lantern from his hip and brandished it, a gentle voice but a mere whisper by his knee. **"... **_**H**_**-**_**Hello**_**?"** it spoke.

His voice escaped him for moment, his usual gravel losing its hostility. **"Hello."** he uttered to the darkness below him, prompting a withdrawn gasp from the feminine tone below. He shook his head in confusion, glancing back to see a that his colleague was once again nose-deep in his plunder. **"It's fine, don't be scared. I'm..."** he began with a restrained whisper, brandishing his lantern between them,"**... I'm not one of them bandits". **Rest assured, he didn't expect what he saw.

_Shining in the light, angelic features._

_She was beautiful._

_We're talking bee-you-tee-full._

_The Girl-Next-Door type, her eyes tinted a perfect sapphire._

_With curves that would make a Dwemer architect blush._

Sparkling with innocence, she shyly hid her eyes against the baggy cloth of his trouser leg. **"Y-You're not..."** she stuttered, an adorable lisp tugging at the tip of her tongue. Behind her smooth, flowing white hair sat the distinctive points of elvish ears. She must've been a Bosmeri - she had the figure and stature of one, even the faint accent of a native to Valenwood. Gradually she peeked from behind her cover, glancing up at the dirtied face of the desert nomad. **"You're... N-Not a **_**baddie**_**...?"**

**"I'm one of the **_**goodies**_**."** he assured, crouching before the woman and placing the lantern by his side. Her grip on his leg severed, she stared at her toes timidly. The woman appeared to be restrained, with bonds locking her ankles and wrists to their counterparts. Furthermore, a collection of ropes appeared to be coiled around her chest and stomach. What purpose did they serve? They didn't lock her down at all, they simply made her look... _Uncomfortable_. **"... Let's get you out of those bonds, okay?"** he smiled, offering his hand. The Bosmeri gripped onto his large index finger like a dependent child for a moment, before realising what he intended and offering her arms.

**"M-Mmph..."** she squeaked weakly, fidgeting awkwardly as he firmly freed her extremities. Stradlater flushed a bright red at the suggestive sounds she seemed to be involuntarily making, her movements accentuating her ample bust. On the topic of busts, he tugged at the tight ropes that accentuated her breasts, trying his best to release them from their confines. **"**_**H**_**-**_**Hey**_**..."**

**"Sorry, they're..."** he fiddled with the ropes more, feeling very much like a teenager trying to remove a girl's training bra on a first date. **"... T-They're very **_**tight**_**."**

**"Be **_**rougher**_** with me..."** she advised, leaning against the Redguard hotly. She gazed up at him sheepishly, her gentle hands gripping onto the rags of his robes as she offered her vulnerability to him. Stradlater obeyed her recommendations, prompting her to breathe deeply - in _that_ sort of way** "...T-There..."**

**"There we go."** Stradlater chuckled warmly, eager to get his hands away from her before he did something cheeky. The bundle of ropes fell to the floor, leaving the woman free to move - and rather cold looking. The warrior fiddled with the handle of his lantern, offering his hand to the young Bosmeri. **"... Can you walk?"**

Staring at his hand briefly like a native of Sentinel admiring their first snowfall, she made it half-way through a nod. **"... I-I think so."** the girl whispered with not a single drop of confidence in her words. Her legs shaking with effort and the chill, she began to stand with her hand supported by the large Redguard. **"**_**A**_**-**_**Ah**_**!"** she yelped, stumbling into his arms in mere moments in that rom-com kind of way.

The girl felt lighter than the brushes of a feather, and Stradlater was easily able to support her. **"I've got you, just..."** he draped his arm over her shoulders, clutching onto her tightly and letting the light clatter to the floor. He'd never been that good at the whole 'support-walk' thing all the war heroes seemed to do in plays and novels - it was harder than it looked. Patting her arm reassuringly, he led her forward. **"Let's take it slow..."**

Bosmeri or not, all beauties seemed to make the cutest of noises at times. Mewling gently, she rested her head under the cover of his arm. The height difference was just _adorable_. **"You're touching my..."** she sniffled lightly, her lips curling innocently as her large saviour awkwardly pulled his hand away from her bosom. **"... I-It's **_**okay**_**, I... Don't mind."**

_Why was her giggle so brief?_

_Why couldn't it be longer?_

Slowly but surely they emerged from the darkness, their shadows cast ahead by the glimmering flame of the abandoned lantern. Wonders was sitting lazily on the shut lid of his treasure chest, no doubt having stuffed everything he could get his mitts on into the singular box. His refusal to stand up only supported this inference - it'd probably burst without his weight. He opened his gob to speak, yet was taken aback by the presence of the newcomer at Stradlater's side. Scanning her from tits to bottom - as he _often_ did with women - he raised a questioning talon.

The Redguard was having none of that. **"Save it."** he muttered, shuffling past the man. The young lady nuzzled against his shoulder, hiding her eyes from view. The Bosmeri were an isolated bunch; what if Wonders was the first Argonian she'd ever seen? He didn't want to frighten her any more than she already was. He clenched onto her shoulder reassuringly, glaring at the confused magician. **"We should get her back to Whiterun. The Temple of Kynareth'll know what to do, they deal with this sort of thing all of the time."**

Wonders raised his hands defensively, his tail wagging like a confused dog's. **"What, people falsely accused of insanity?"**

Stradlater snickered, putting his free hand on his hip with sass. **"It wasn't an accusation, the Jarl was just pointing it out"**. The Argonian crossed his legs like a lap dancer, leaning forward questioningly. A pair of charred, armoured shins dangled from the half-opened chest lid; flinching with his movements.

_That explained where their old bandit friend went off to._

All it took was a less-than subtle pat on his makeshift seat punctuated by two kicks of the rotting corpse's inanimate feet to convey the message to the Redguard, who kissed his teeth in frustration. **"... Oh for the love of..."**

X

With his scaly fists buried into his deep pockets, Silent-He-Wonders led the procession through the setting sun of Skyrim's expansive fields. They were in the most awkward position possible - just close enough to see the city walls, yet _just_ far enough for it to be unsafe to continue the journey through the night; especially with the woman in tow. The Argonian made certain to point this out to his companion, who reacted with a spiteful venom that rarely cursed his tongue.

**"There, in the treeline." **Stradlater gestured with a prod of his angular nose, bearing a chest-full of vendor trash and a carcass _wearing_ vendor trash on one shoulder and a clingy woman on his other. Shrugging his shoulders neutrally, the Argonian obeyed his _'wisdom'_ and followed his suggestion. The treeline was surprisingly thick up close - more than enough to shroud them from onlookers. **"I'd rather not camp in the open. Set up here."**

Without a care in the world the desert wanderer tossed the chest onto the floor, much to his companion's frustration **"Oi, **_**careful**_**!" **he growled, quickly slipping to his knees to check the state of his haul. The magician caressed it like the frail body of a newborn, brushing his fingers along the grooves of the rotten chest. **"There might be enough gold in there to get me two draughts!"**

For a brief moment Stradlater glanced at the twinkling jewels of his own treasure's eyes, before turning back to the irritating reptile. **"Wow, **_**two**_**?"** he repeated sarcastically, not even paying attention to the Argonian's lacklustre response. Gently he lowered the girl onto the chest, helping her take a seat and examining the red marks left by the bonds on her wrists. **"Here, this should do for now. Are you okay?"**

She tugged at her ragged clothing weakly, her slender arms floating within the Redguard's grip. **"M-Mhmm..."** she squeaked shyly, apologetically bowing her head. The young woman probably despised being vulnerable like this. Who'd want to be so helpless and fragile? **"I'm s-so... **_**Sorry**_**."**

**"It's fine, it's **_**fine**_**." **Stradlater reassured frantically, hesitantly brushing a hand through her beautiful head of hair. The girl flinched in surprise, yet quickly fell calm as he curled her twirling locks between his finger tips. If anything she almost seemed tranquil, like a kitten under the stroking hands of its owner. **"Are you cold? Are you hungry?"**

_On the topic of cats..._

Affectionately she nuzzled against his hand, her pulse and heart calming with his comforting touch. Wonders settled on a dry patch of the ground lazily, raising an eyebrow at the duo before turning to his talons, not a single word bursting from his slimy snout. **"... A-A little bit cold..."** she responded, which the Redguard listed in his mind's eye. Pressing her chest against the desert nomad's arm, her gentle breaths tickled like a quill at his neck. **"But... **_**You're**_** warm..."**

**"A-All right." **Stradlater sighed, taking a seat on the container's lid alongside her. Awkwardly he wrapped the cloak of his garb over the Bosmeri's nubile body, letting her snuggle ever so closer to him. A distinctive silence fell between them, the idle calls of nirnroot and torchbugs being all that filled the night air. The Redguard's chest rose and fell with that corny old feeling of love, the elf's presence being all that was needed to get his heart pumping. Their states of mind had practically reversed. He needed a topic, and Wonders wasn't an option. He rustled the girl's shoulder for her attention. **"... What's your name?"**

The Bosmeri grumbled cutely, having been enjoying the comfort Stradlater's shoulder provided. **"... **_**Destiny**_..." she chimed, rubbing at her eyes cutely. Blinking a few times, her glowing sapphires spun to meet his dull onyxes. **"... I-I think..."**

**"Destiny." **he repeated - a unique, beautiful, mysterious name for a lady demonstrating all of the above. **"**_**Destiny**_**."** he rolled on his tongue, adoring pronouncing the word. He'd never be able to say it again now without thinking of her - what a nuisance. Wonders raised his brow at his peculiar speech, yet his lack of eyebrows made it rather unnoticeable. **"Do you know where you are, Destiny?"**

_Destiny, Destiny, Destiny._

_You, my dear, are my Destiny._

Destiny's eyes dimmed, the glow in Destiny's outstanding ceruleans weakening with sadness. Destiny frowned with a sudden surge of depression, Destiny's curvy shoulders lowering. Destiny was sad. **"No."**

_Destiny, Destiny, Destiny._

_Never cry - never doubt - never fear._

**"**_**Shhh**_**, don't cry." **The Ra Gardan begged childishly, cuddling the Bosmeri and rubbing at her smooth back. She was beginning to tremble once more - and he'd have _none_ of that. **"I'll look after you... I promise."**

Destiny pushed against his chest gently, and without question he loosened his grip. The young mer gazed upwards within the shield of his brawny arms, her eyes twinkling with emerging tears. If her sapphires became any brighter, they'd become perfect diamonds. She licked her lips, **"You do...?"**

_I do, I do._

_Two simple words he'd long to hear in echoes._

The air dripping with corniness, he reached for one of her timid hands and pressed it against his thumping chest. **"Bottom of my heart."** he smiled reassuringly, stroking her injured wrist with his thumb. **"... Goodies **_**never**_** lie."**

Her blush was all it took to fill him with satisfaction. What he'd give to see it again; her cute, adorable cheeks flushing with the reddened warmth of girly embarrassment. **"Thank you... **_**Sir**_**..."**

Stradlater tutted, having forgotten his introduction: **"Stradlater, that's my name."** he bowed his head, which she mimicked with a restrained giggle. Glancing to his side he spotted his forgotten colleague, who appeared to be staring at him as if he'd just grown a pair of rabbit ears and had started singing _Ragnar the Red_ in a high pitched girl's voice. Their eyes briefly met, and a peculiar grin filled his bestial maw - it was unsettling, to say the least. **"... And him, he's Wonders. Don't mind him."**

They returned to silence - his _second_ favourite activity since they'd met, just behind conversation. Stradlater could feel Destiny's thumping heart pressed against his own, matching his rhythm affectionately. Such closeness was to be expected. If he were to protect such an innocent girl, it only seemed right they'd be connected in some way. They were one.

_It must've been fate._

_A sign from the sands?_

Another nudge roused her from a snooze. He felt so cruel for doing so, but he needed to know. **"... Still cold?"**

**"... M-Mmm..."** the mer nodded hesitantly, the thin rags of Stradlater's robes having been designed for protection from the sun rather than the moon. The shadows grew closer, and the fabled snow of Skyrim's highlands no doubt tempted fate this day. What if this was her first time outside in the harsh climate of the province? He had so many questions left to ask - yet they had so much time ahead of them, together.

**"It's getting darker."** he said to no one in particular, Wonder's scaly tail perking up in response. He'd hoped that'd be a sign for the Argonian to get chopping, yet if experience told him anything it was that the poor, wretched excuse for a colleague wasn't to be relied on for such simple tasks. It pained him to let her go, but needs must; it was for her own good. **"... I'll go get some fire wood."**

_She didn't like that, that's for certain._

_Destiny, Destiny; she never wants to leave you._

The timid flower tugged on his beefy hands, begging him to stay by her side. **"W-Wait."**

Stradlater simply smiled, tearing off his cloak and draping it over her form. **"Don't worry Destiny, Wonders'll look..."** he was about to point out the slimy magician, yet such a perverted creature would be no help at all. He combed her hair back once more, embarrassed by her sniffling - she was smelling the rag; _his_ smell brought her comfort. **"... You'll be fine."**

His assurance was all she needed, as she curled up shyly with the clingy maroon garment she'd been gifted. Rising from the treasure chest cum chair, Stradlater wandered over to the stationary Argonian and clicked to grab his attention. **"Hmm?"** he mumbled absently, his gaze darting from Destiny to the Redguard. **"Could you grab me a cheese wedge while you're out, colleague? I'm feeling a bit peckish."**

**"No funny business."** The Redguard growled lowly, his eye filling with a hostile anger that rarely featured on his limited list of expressions. The Argonian tilted his head in confusion, having been concerned about the brute's behaviour ever since he'd recovered the woman. He scratched his nose lazily, stepping over the seated lizard. **"I'll be five minutes."**

**"Of course."** he smiled, his jagged rows of teeth glistening in the moonlight to produce a peculiar rippling effect. **"I'll keep it in... Uhh... My **_**breeches**_**."** he joked, hauling himself to his feet. Stradlater didn't groan at the comment like he usually did - he simply glared at him judgingly, as if he was wondering how the Argonian would look as a suit of scale-hide armour, or an adornment on his wall. Wonders blinked, feeling like an exposed young girl being admired by a suitor **"... Yes?"**

Reluctantly the Redguard departed from the campsite, stumbling through the thick foliage of Skyrim's grasslands in hunt for grounded logs. At last alone with his colleague's catch, a perverse grin stretched at Wonder's teeth - an expression that was instantly mirrored by the seated Destiny with lusty precision.

The magician leant forward smugly, his lithe tongue wiggling at her suggestively as he paced towards the seated woman. **"Well, well, **_**well**_**."** he hissed, the musky pheromones unique to his race rising from his murky scales. He tapped at a canine with a sharpened talon, making sure to flash them both and their manicured quality to the woman before him.** "Strange to see another **_**Saxhleel**_** so far from the homely spring lakes, my dear..."**

_Very strange indeed._

X

_(A/N): Blast-my-eyes, it's so awkward to purposely write romance in a terrible, predictable, corny way. I only hope people could survive that terrible pacing to get to the ending of this chapter, so they can realise that things aren't quite as they seem! :O_

_After all: Everybody lies!_

_See you at the next chapter, have a good night/day/inbetween! :D_


	2. A Matter of Perspective

**(A/N):** The continuation continues with another continuation...!

It's funny actually, this chapter initially had a big ramble about AS Level results but then again I started writing this in August! So, I just pulled it out and filled it with this ramble to take up space xD

Anywho, hopefully this chapter lives up to the hype that my mind's been bestowing it, because I'm known for disappointing myself when it comes to such things ._.

Let's get kicking!

**WARNING:** Spelling errors, language, awkwardness, pathetic attempts at comedy and bizarre attempts at being edgy and original despite stating in the A/N of the first chapter that I was ripping off an episode of a popular British TV Show!

**Chapter Two: A Matter of Perspective**

More often than not a good pair of breasts was all Wonders needed to get his musk pumping over-time. However, elegant and colourful scales like the palette of an elven artist smacked off his face from skooma tended to seal the deal. Rest assured, if the Argonian beauty before him had any other hues in her myriad of tones she'd cause widespread seizures to onlookers with one bounce of her curvaceous bosom.

_Mind you, he was already frothing from the mouth a tad._

The exotic beauty flashed her maw, practically blinding him with its glorious might. **"Hmmm... I could say the same for you, **_**Fangs**_**." **the Argonian dame hissed in response to his greeting, admiring the mage's well treated and pointed teeth. The Redguard often gave him weird looks for sharpening his jagged enamel with butter knives and tankard rims, but who was laughing now? **"A magician **_**and**_** a Saxhleel, so deep into Skyrim... Enough to make one gasp!"**

Silent-He-Wonders held onto a _'pfft'_ like a bout of comedic flatulence. **"Oh, **_**please**_**."** he joked, snorting and chuckling in a way that effortlessly combined the manly confidence of a knight in shining armour with the dorky nervousness of a teenager hiding an erection at a familial gathering. **"These Nordic **_**buffoons**_** are nothing to me, my darling."** Wonders purred, his tongue dangling from betwixt his rough gob. Her bust was so large and juicy that he was curious as to how she was able to stand without tipping over in perpetual motion, spinning forever in head over toe. **"**_**Nothing**_**..."** he eventually repeated, not quite sure how long he'd left it.

_He wondered how they'd feel between finger and thumb._

_Silently, of course, he wondered._

The dame blinked rapidly, the audible flutter of expertly curled eyelashes bearing such force that the snarky mage struggled to stay true in his seated position. **"You're drooling, **_**handsome**_**."** she pointed out in concern, leaning closer to accommodate her magnificent mammaries. **"Are you okay?"**

**"Okay? **_**Bah**_**!"** the magician eventually scoffed, batting a dismissive claw at the temptress. **"I'm excellent! Fit as a towering oak!"** he grinned, flexing his weedy arms and growling like the macho-ist infant in the playpen. After a brief silence he crossed his legs, resting his baggy sleeves over his lap.** "... So you are called **_**Destiny**_**?"**

**"**_**Destiny-In-Waters**_**."** the vixen noted, teasingly mimicking his posture – pressing her breasts up higher than the peak of _The Throat of the World_; her nipples no doubt the snow-capped points. She gestured back to the shadowed woodlands behind her, where deep within the grumpy and protective Redguard chopped for wood with the sharpness of his tongue, no doubt.** "I wouldn't tell **_**him**_** my full name!"**

Wonders snickered at her bluntness, glad that he wasn't the only one who didn't particularly enjoy tolerating the block-headed warrior. **"He wouldn't be able to **_**pronounce**_** it, my dear."** he pointed out, the dangerously curled talons upon his toes wiggling to a peculiar rhythm. **"You know what men are like."**

**"Oh yes!"** Destiny agreed enthusiastically, oblivious to the male's locked eyes bouncing to a beat. She hurriedly rested a hand upon her buxom bosom to restrain the twins, preventing Wonders from spewing out his dinner with dizziness and lust. **"Of course, such **_**perverts**_**!"** she eventually continued, **"**_**Always**_** thinking with their crotches."**

The mage took a moment to pull his jaw back into position, forcing some blood into his limp tongue. **"Certainly!" **he acknowledged like the kiss-arse he was, his nostrils flaring with barely suppressed contempt. **"With their **_**sweat**_** and their **_**hairs**_**!"** the male listed, shuddering with every vowel like a pompous noble bragging to the common rabble about his adventures in the Cloud District.** "Only the Hist could know why they grow beards. To store ale perhaps?"**

_He could've sworn some Nords packed their lunches in those things._

_Goat Leg, with sliced venison, salted beef, and a side dish of diced dog – with an extra helping of venison!_

Stradlater had actually tried to grow a full on beard once, having initially had trouble adapting to the change of climate in Skyrim to his native Sentinel. Rest assured; the complaints of itchiness and lice were so common that Wonders had initially offered to burn the whole damn thing off free of charge. Ever since a particularly excruciating ordeal involving an elven dagger, a cup of troll fat, and an entire litre of healing tonic, the tanned fighter had settled for maintaining a decently well-kept set of facial hair; albeit a smug one that made his increasingly common grins look larger and nuttier than a mountain giant's first dump of the day.

He doubted there was even a need for a campfire at this point: the beauty of the dame deemed Destiny was intensifying. She sparkled cutely - both literally _and_ metaphorically – and practically blinded him with her bright glow. As he continued to admire the female's frame with less effort to be stealthy about it than a dragon gnawing on a Watchtower, she calmly caressed her colourful, eye-catching body as if she were posing for a painting - although even the brushwork of the greatest artists of High Rock would never do her justice. **"I've had plenty of men admiring **_**my**_** scales in the past, you know."** she commented, all but acknowledging Wonder's googly eyes, **"**_**Without**_** my permission!"** Destiny exhaled hotly, the rise and fall of her chest steadying under the magician's _'vigilance'_.

**"Oh, you **_**poor**_** thing!"** Wonders mumbled in understanding, the sincerity of his tone as trusting as a Dunmer thief with an affinity for sweet rolls. Eagerly he tilted his head, the glint of his eye increasing in magnitude as he investigated every womanly bump he could lay his – albeit perverted – sight on.** "Men are a simple species, my jewel!"** he continued to murmur, his skull practically merging with his scrawny chest and nuzzling within its cavity for a better view. **"Alas, we are all forced to tolerate their hubris!"**

Destiny hissed hotly, the lusty sound of acknowledgement sending shivers through Wonders spine, before taking a detour around his knees and ending slap-bang at the tip of his tail. **"**_**Mmmm**_**…"** she smiled, timidly caressing the male's angular cheeks with her rough, yet comfortable, palms. **"Shameful, if you ask me. Too few noble, headstrong and wisened Saxhleel."** she grinned, eying the magician's skinny and pathetic body as if he was a Nordic heavy lifter immortalised in a sculpture of the finest ebony.

For the longest of moments an uncharacteristic silence filled the air between the sex symbol, _and_ Destiny. To be perfectly honest, Wonders had often thought about why some people were so obsessed and entranced by the purity of Argonian women folk. Not long ago Stradlater had competed with him for the hand of a gentle girl of his kind, and the Redguard was more aggressive over her ownership than a bull baron on the piss.

_Just why on Nirn did he want Soft-Her-Scales to be his those weeks ago?_

_What had lured him to Destiny-In-Waters now?_

_Maybe because they were both cold-blooded?_

He'd thought long and hard about theories, and one often resurfaced whenever they cleared out abandoned crypts or caves or castles filled with the kind of nerdy summoners and magicians who cut their own hair with bowls and hatchets. That perhaps, to some degree, he was a _necrophile_.

It made sense in theory. Why else was he so keen to shove his cutlass through the ribcages of reanimated skeletons, snuggling up close and wiggling it within to rattle what was left of its internal organs – waking up dust mites and causing a mass eviction of the undead's squatting residents?

The peculiar swordsman tended to give Draugr the most awkward of grins mid-combat, his lips tightening as he ran them through against the mossy walls of their burial grounds. No doubt he was a fan of having a choice of holes to penetrate with his throbbing, wetted weapon, mind.

_No wonder why he polished it regularly._

_He always wanted privacy when he did that._

That particular train of thought came careening to a halt like a horse and carriage trying to do an extreme drift and wheelie across the icy roads of Skyrim – a trick that the Argonian had reenacted several times himself. Destiny shuddered exaggeratedly, folding her arms upon her cleavage as if she was having trouble bearing their collective weight.** "**_**Brrrr**_**!" **she snickered, pining for his attention. Not that she needed to try. **"These garments… So **_**clingy**_**."**

_Oh, he'd noticed._

_How he'd noticed._

Leaving the slightest of indentations upon the dew-gathering grass they sat upon, Destiny stealthily began to close the distance between them. **"Those dastardly hooligans; leaving me in such a chilly, **_**lonely**_** chamber like that…" **she whined, forming into a seductive crawl that did everything to flash the fresh cabbages. **"The dampness of those caves was poor for my clothing..."** the temptress sat up upon her knees, tugging at the underside of her ragged shirt and revealing the translucent fabric of her vest – a slender, slinking waist the colour of envy sheltering within. The garment was almost like her: showing everything up front, yet hiding everything all the same. **"… Do you mind if I take these off?"**

Perhaps she lacked a concept of basic social etiquette, because she'd already stripped down before Wonders could so much as make a witty comment. **"A-A clever girl, I see!"** he stuttered, her exposed collar bearing a surprising sense of mystery and intrigue to it. He'd spent so long staring at the obvious that he hadn't even considered the full package, for there was a lot more to beauty than the size of one's chest! **"It's uhh… A bad idea to wear clothes… **_**Damp**_**! D-Damp clothes… In the **_**cold**_**…"** he stammered, sounding like he was reciting some sort of arcane incantation involving frost magicks. He leant back stiffly, scooting a few inches away like a silent monk who'd wandered into the aftermath of an Orcish mating ritual only to learn that the chieftain was blind. **"'less you **_**want**_** a cold!"**

Her advance continued, the jiggling of her breast intensifying without the prison of her tight rags. **"Saxhleel wisdom, **_**hmmm**_**?"** she flirted, grasping onto the firm right-angle of his arm and caressing it within her grasp. The entire limb fell limp – no doubt the stiffness of it was needed elsewhere. **"And I'm sure such a clever, **_**well-endowed**_** gentleman could tell me more?" **Destiny cooed, resting her chin upon the point of Wonder's gawky shoulder, her twinkling gaze fixed on his reptilian grimace. The temptress pressed on, smiling at him expectantly like a young girl indirectly asking for a treat.

Wonders nodded autonomously, trying to stop himself from melting into a pile of mush and smelly scales at the mere sight of the woman before him. Childishly Destiny reached out her hand, tapping her angular talons at the mage's teeth in barely contained admiration. **"They're…"** the embarrassed Argonian mumbled, the subtle clink of her claws sending shocks down his spine with every tick and clack. He improvised – as he often did – like the charming devil he was. **"… A-As sharp as my **_**mind**_**…?"**

_He'd seen Hagravens with better flirting skill._

_Although to be honest, those creatures could be quite poetic. Providing you were drunk at the time._

Whatever the emotion that filled Destiny's features was, it certainly wasn't a negative one. More of a neutral, quizzical visage you'd expect on a local priest listening to a peasant prattle on about how hard their life was. **"How… **_**Poetic**_**."** she eventually settled on, pressing her boobage against Wonder's frozen arm. Like a deadly assassin of the Dark Brotherhood her claw silently grazed across his chest, moving downwards with renewed purpose. **"You truly have a way with words, **_**handsome**_**."** Destiny complimented, continuing down, down, down until - with confusion - she met something.

_A firm, stubby shaft._

That certainly caught her off guard.** "… What's **_**this**_**?"**

_'Twas Tater-Masher, his mace, strapped securely to his belt. _

Eagerly she clutched onto his mighty weapon, squeezing its head and admiring its empowering girth. Wonders shifted uncomfortably; the mace's pommel was prodding his leg harshly, leaving pained marks upon its surface. **"N-Nothing!"** he yelped cowardly, his protests sounding more pitiful than an Orcish bard's attempt at reciting _The Age of Oppression _– in Solitude, as the Jarl and General Tullius watched on. The magician fidgeted on the spot impatiently, the chafing against his scales growing hotter and hotter in more ways than one, to be brutally honest. **"You're making me **_**uncomfortable**_**…"**

That just made her grin grow wider and fiercer; the sort of grin you'd expect from someone who could eat week old stale tavern bread without any mead. **"What's wrong?"** Destiny briefly pouted teasingly, running her talons across the dents and age-old cranial matter that comprised the rest of the enchanted mace's dome. For the briefest of moments she squeezed it, granting Wonders a mere moment within a moment to catch his breath, before returning to her unintended torture. **"My, so **_**cold**_** and **_**stiff**_**…"**

If Argonians could blush, he would've been redder than your average Mythic Dawn cultist who'd been told his arse was showing through a crude set of limericks. **"B-Because no one's touched it before!" **the pained male exhaled airily, a sign interpreted a tad bit incorrectly by his host for the hour.

_Click, click, click._

**"How about you?"** she urged, glad to see Wonders gritting his teeth as she hastened – a bit of his skin having flaked off like a scab torn from a freshly healed limb stump. The pain was mostly comparable to wiping your nostrils with your ragged robe sleeve on a cold Frostfall, leaving nothing but sore aches and snotty chunks for all to see. Her enthusiasm and encouragement growing, she spoke domineeringly with a husky voice. **"Don't you hold it... **_**Abundantly**_**?"**

Wonders fell silent shyly, suddenly feeling glad that he had a hood to shroud his insecurities for he couldn't dare to look her in the eye. Her pumping slowed to grant him solace, allowing him to collect his bearings and respond. **"… E-Everyday…"** he admitted hesitantly, hoping to keep the conversation going before the entirety of his leg was sawn off by the friction. **"… Don't tell anyone, I beg of you."**

That prompted an endearing giggle from her, and for the briefest of moments Wonders didn't care if he became a cripple if it would let him hear such an angelic chime once more. His snout flared with distaste: He was beginning to sound like Stradlater. **"It's perfectly **_**natural**_**, Fangs!" **Destiny placated, her rapid mill-like movements no doubt chipping and peeling the rust from the mace's neck in the same fashion as the plated scales atop Wonder's thigh! She whispered, **"It's the **_**best**_** way to let out stress... And it feels so **_**good**_**."**

_How right she was._

_Smashing skulls into pulp after frying their contents into a fine soup never got old._

Be it either a sign of salvation or damnation, a heavy rustle echoed through the surrounding foliage and canopies as a tall figure wrestled through the undergrowth with heavy hands. Wonders could taste the combined stench of cheap ale, boiling sweat, charred flesh and sexual frustration. That was more than enough to tell it was Stradlater from sixty paces. Like skooma salesmen scarpering from hold gates at sun-up, Wonders hastily yanked his weapon from the female's ardent grasp. She seemed unphased even with the smell.

**"Hmmm?" **she said, the sound somehow managing to roll off her tongue as if she'd invented an entirely new word.

Wonders couldn't believe she hadn't noticed. **"That smell?"** he pointed out, causing her to flare her nostrils in search of this apparent scent. Wonders shuffled away like a grounded horse when its rider wasn't looking as she was preoccupied, stifling the whimpers of his aching body. **"You know, the one that stinks like the backend of an electrocuted skeever?"**

Her blinks were louder than a foppish orange hat and rose pink outfit worn during a funeral parade. **"… Oh."** She eventually mumbled, as if coming to a sudden understanding. Her expression filled with the glow of comprehension, and her gaze snapped to the wounded male – who froze on the spot as if hit by a paralysing bolt. **"Oh! Yes, I see… Or rather, **_**smell**_**!"**

_If his chuckle was any more condescending, it would've caused widespread depression within the local youth._

Breaking free from the surprising maze of the flatlands, the familiar Redguard stood with the sort of epic pose reserved by heroes and stage actors; chest out, and a back straighter than Wonder's sexual orientation. Hauled upon his shoulder sat a collection of strung logs, sitting snugly within the comforting curve of his biceps. The lack of an axe on hand or belt suggested two possibilities – either he'd conveniently 'found' the lumber strewn amongst the woods, or he'd sliced down an oak with a single swing of his mighty, thick skull.

_The latter was far more likely._

Stradlater glared at his Argonian companion suspiciously for a time, his single coloured eye squinting with disgust. Satisfied that he'd filled the mage with enough fear and anxiety for the moment to get by he glanced back at Destiny, his face becoming softer than the woman's luscious bottom within an instant. **"Did he do anything?"**

The Bosmer shuffled towards him, tugging the Ra Gardan cloak draped across her back close. Staring at the boots of the towering man before her she spoke with a sense of guilt, as if she feared she had made the Redguard cross. **"I-I was **_**cold**_**."**

**"Certainly sounds like it, with all that stuttering."** he smirked, oozing charm like pus from a whitened wound. Wonders pursed his non-existent lips with confusion, his curious and darting eyes remaining entirely ignored by the duo before him. Destiny certainly wasn't stuttering at the moment, that's for sure; she was speaking with the strength and composure of a strong, independent lady. Stradlater beckoned her over, falling to a crouch and slinging the logs over with a collection of dull clunks. **"Come here, I'll start a fire. That'll warm you up."**

As the wanderer got to work, Destiny took the briefest of moments to glance back at the magician. Teasingly she winked at him, gesturing to the knelt man in a judging manner. They shared a grin at his expense, before she returned to dealing with the selfish Redguard before her - her flawless rump and stretching tail swaying with confident grace.

He'd arranged the logs in a cone-like fashion, scraping the paste-like mud with dirtied hands to secure the base. Destiny knelt beside him, clinging onto her frail legs childishly as he perfected his craft. **"You know, it's funny really."** he muttered conversationally, sprinkling some make-shift tinder from the leaf-laden ground onto the lacklustre effigy before them. Licking his lips he dug into his pockets, the young girl's eyes following his every movement like an untrusting deer.** "Building campfires… Always feels **_**good**_**."**

_Oh, please._

_Was this really his attempt at flirting?_

Following his example Destiny shyly picked at the grass, tossing small strands of green and beige onto the small fire-pit. Stradlater urged her on approvingly, glad to have assistance from someone no matter how small. Her delicate fingers struggled to tear even the thinnest blades of viridian and turf, the tips of her digits turning white with effort. **"I-It's… Nice to build things…"**

The Redguard nodded happily, at last procuring what he was after – a small striking flint he'd bought off a caravan during a brief stay in Rorikstead. Wonders had assured him that his magicks were far more reliable than such primitive devices, but if today was anything to go by he wouldn't always have the dastardly bastardly _bastard_ on his side. **"Better than destroying things, that's for sure." **he grinned, slowly drawing his scimitar from the confines of his scabbard and laying it across the ground. **"… A lesson a **_**lot**_** of people need to learn."**

Destiny frowned with distaste, her stained hands rearing back from the monument of their combined efforts as Stradlater began the arduous process of striking flint-on-steel. Wonders watched on judgingly, wondering if the warrior had written a poetic speech for just this occasion. **"It's bad…"** she whispered gloomily, resting her gentle chin upon the knobs of her knees. The clink and spark of the Redguards strokes illuminated her eyes briefly, granting them an extraordinary twinkled under the moonlight. **"… W-Why do people hurt eachother?"**

_To further their own goals, Wonders thought._

_It's as simple as that, isn't it? Do the math._

Stradlater let loose a long, drawn-out sigh, his shoulders sagging as his lungs squeezed out every last drop of air they could contain. Wonders briefly feared that the desert nomad had just committed a rather elaborate form of suicide, only for him to speak up once more after an uncharacteristically long pause. **"One of life's big questions, I suppose." **he examined the flint, tapping at its tip to check for bluntness. **"I've always thought it was because it was so easy."**

The Bosmer gulped, glancing at him with an expression mixing shock, unease, and childlike concern. **"… To… **_**Kill**_**?"**

'_Forlorn_' wouldn't be a suitable word to describe his expression as he stoically glared at the non-existent flames before him, striking once more but to no avail. **"It's **_**far**_** too easy..."** he muttered, a twitch of frustration tugging at his nostrils.

There had been generations of bloodshed through the forging of his people, from their invasion of Western Hammerfell to the settlement of the deserts, from the disputes and civil wars between brothers and sisters to their final stand against the dreaded Aldmeri Dominion. Like so many of his kind he'd claimed a fair share of lives across the proving grounds of war.

_But like so few of his kind, he found no enjoyment in it._

There was no joy to be found in killing, no matter how much the Forebears and Crowns prattled on about nationalism and the heat of battle. It was a strange thing how a life years long; full of memories, anger, relationships and more; could be ended with something as simple as a jagged shard of metal.

How many widows and orphans had he made?

This year?

_This week?_

Stradlater clenched his teeth, his grimace hidden by the flatness of his scarred visage. After a brief moment of tension his features relaxed – well, as relaxed as someone with a face sharper than the High King's haircut could look. The Redguard smiled at the Bosmeri comfortingly, as if her beauty alone drained all of the bitterness from his mind's eye.**"… You're still cold?"**

That caused her incessant blushing to take an all new level of red, putting the knight's namesake to test, no doubt. Reaching for her shoulders she tugged at Stradlater's cloak, wrapping it even tighter across her frame as if she were preparing herself to be mummified and tossed into a sarcophagus. **"N-No…"** she mewled, the chattering of her spotless teeth ruining her attempts at putting on a face.

The distant Argonian felt like a Nord in Windhelm, staring across the street at the animal enclosures where all the Dunmer were crammed together in horrendous conditions and insulted by passers by. If anything that was the one redeeming factor of those greasy Stormcloaks: They may have gotten the racial superiority thing wrong, but they _did_ know how to treat a Dark Elf properly!

Silently he watched on, wondering how much longer Destiny would be able to cope before her hands wrapped around his rusted shaft, tugged hard, and clubbed the irritating Redguard across the chops with his throbbing mace.

With one last strike the fire burst to life, instantly spreading across the sprinkled tinder and casting a warm glow brighter than a Dominion soldier in the middle of being electrocuted. Stradlater, always fond of corniness, rubbed his hands together alongside the dancing flames. **"Try it."** he recommended, flipping his palms and heating his burnt and cracked knuckles. **"Nice and toasty, isn't it?"**

_He certainly wasn't the perfect example for fire safety, was he?_

The mage couldn't help but snicker in the background, prompting Stradlater to roll his eyes. He too wanted to warm himself without the effort of setting something on fire, but he was too nervous to face the Redguard's overprotective wrath - his breath itself was boiling enough, if that was any consolation. **"You certainly **_**smell**_** toasty."** he commented rudely, staring at the wanderer's nose to avoid the bile and distaste of his eye. He could see Destiny grinning at his witty comment - the sole audient to his comedy gold. He gazed into the jewels of her eyes, gesturing to the smelly oaf critically. **"Great thing to wake up to in the morning, if you have some honey."**

Stradlater was mature enough to ignore him - more for the girl's sake than his. It was clear that Wonders just wanted some attention, and he wasn't going to give the damned lizard the satisfaction. Playfully nudging the Bosmeri's shoulder with his elbow, she nodded her head and complied - concentration filling her cutesy face. **"L-Like…"** she raised her delicate, pasty hands; if she were any more cautious she wouldn't be so much as breathing. Gradually her shivering slowed as she spread her hands near the fire, letting colour fill her frozen palms with life and warmth. Her arms continuing to shake, she whimpered for his support. **"… **_**This**_**?"**

He patted her shoulder fatherly, finding her smile of pride more infectious than a rabid wolfhound pumped with rockjoint - an analogy that he quickly pushed out of his mind's eye. **"That's it."** he acknowledged, hoping to steady her limbs. **"Easy now."**

_He sounded like an owner pampering his pet._

_Who was it that coined the phrase "Give a dog a bone"?_

The Redguard could've sworn that the Bosmer had never seen fire before, her eyes permanently aglow with youthful curiosity; and her lips pursed, as if letting out a silent "_Ooooo_" for all eternity. Destiny's fingers twitched as if plucking at the strings of an oversized fiddle, tempting fate to get just a bit closer to the fascinating event before her. To be brutally honest Stradlater probably would've stopped her from burning a digit if he wasn't too busy having an internal monologue and commentating on every movement she made.

**"**_**Careful**_**!"** her protector howled in sudden panic, his loudness and concern bringing more fear and discomfort to the girl than the sear itself. Wonders watched on with confusion - one of his few functional facial expressions - plastered upon his face. He couldn't quite remember the last time that the Redguard had become so worked up about such a trivial occurrence; even around attractive women. Hurriedly Stradlater tugged at his belt, pouring some water from his leather waterskin and dampening the small injury. A whimper of worry and guilt from the girl brought him back to his senses, **"**_**Shhhh**_**..."** he hissed lowly, like a grass snake slinking across a meadow in search of children to terrify. Within moments she had snuggled against him, hiding behind the ever-present shroud of his maroon cloak. **"There."** he chuckled forcefully, like a craftsman pretending to be impressed by his apprentice's birthday gift. **"Nothing too bad."**

**"Well, she doesn't look like **_**you**_**. That's a relief."** Wonders interjected, winking at Destiny in a way that resembled more of an insane twitch than a charming gesture. He could feel Stradlater's glare piercing through him like a bodkin arrow, yet for some reason a sense of audacity and challenge filled him out of absolutely nowhere - and he looked the intimidating warrior in the eye challengingly. **"Wouldn't want her scales to look like the back end of a troll's scrotum now, would we?"**

Stradlater both scowled and snarled, the corner of his brown lips flinching with welled anger. He brushed Destiny's flowing hair to try and relieve his stress, the girl remaining reserved within the comfort of her makeshift shelter. **"You sure those bees in your satchel aren't stinging your arse?"** The Redguard asked with mock concern, **"Because you're **_**really**_** sore right now, Argonian."**

He did have a sore arse - for plenty of reasons, with energetic bees eager to mate being one of the latter. **"I've been sitting on it all day while your pranced around like a giant high off tree sap." **he growled in response, his nostrils flaring with irritation. The Redguard could've at least learned _how_ to insult people first. **"What else can I say?"**

Perhaps Stradlater felt threatened by his sheer bodacity - a word he insisted was real, despite the denial of every scholar and gambler he'd met. Eventually he settled on silence, the harsh redness of rage simmering down and returning to the soft redness of dorky romance. **"Nothing."** he muttered calmly, making sure to squeeze in just the right dosage of contempt to get his point across. The Redguard pulled Destiny towards him with a protective embrace, yet she didn't seem to mind the feeling of security - nor did he. **"Don't listen to him." **the nomad whispered conspiratorially, resting his chin upon the soft mat of her well-kept hair. The vulnerable woman nodded - more to make him happy than in understanding - as she snuggled into his warm, coiling arms.

Wonders felt like the third friend as a group walked down a narrow corridor - something he had essentially became in no less than a few minutes. **"Nothing different to your usual, eh?"** he snickered dryly, turning his back on his _'friend'_ and gazing at his own prize - his treasure chest, filled with all sorts of loot and plunder just waiting to be sold to the General Store in Whiterun. Sometimes he thought about what the shop owner could possibly do with the sort of junk he shoved onto his shelves, but he'd seen plenty of strange things sold across the various markets of Tamriel.

_Ever seen someone buy a dog pelt that still had a collar on?_

The Argonian arrogantly strode towards his possessions, muttering to himself madly as he popped the chest open, reaching around the festering corpse within it to sort through what he had. **"Ungrateful **_**git**_**."** he snarled audibly, peeking back to see that Stradlater was too wrapped up in his affairs to deal with his intelligent friend's noble and fair counsel at the moment. **"You **_**really**_** are."**

The warrior was having no trouble blocking out the childish repitilian mage, until he suddenly began to hum to himself rather incessantly - off key and more cracked than a funeral urn crafted by a potter's paralysed grandmother. With a prod of his sandaled foot he nudged the fire's foundations, getting the flames to crackle and roar with greater intensity. **"How's the finger?"**

Destiny pouted childishly, her voice muffled by the Redguard's brawny chest - which she'd taken to clinging onto rather tightly. **"... **_**Numb**_**."**

**"Can I see?"** Stradlater questioned curiously, pinching onto the ends of his cloak and experimentally tugging it away, taking the lack of resistance as a sign of acceptance. While he wasn't quite the Grand Paladin of the Vigilants of Stendarr, he'd seen plenty of burns in the past to differentiate the various degrees and severities. Encompassing her entire palm within the confines of his own, he examined her injured finger. It was merely red, with no singes to be seen across the perfection of her flesh. Cautiously he tapped the digit, and - strangely enough - she wriggled it in response.

Destiny gazed at him with a glint of trickery gracing her usually unconfident expression. With swaying grace she continued to flex her finger before him, yet his eyes didn't follow the limb - they were far too entranced by her beauty**. "I-I... Just wanted you to warm it up..."**

He couldn't quite tell if it was a sense of affection in the air that jogged him back to his senses, or the fact that Wonders had just reached his favourite part of the chorus in _Ragnar the Red_. Rest assured, a small part of him felt sorry for the Argonian - even if he was an arse, _sometimes_ he didn't mean to be.

**"Cheeky."** he smirked at her dubiously, continuing to tap and nudge her trembling, miniscule finger. He had absolutely no idea where the sudden compulsion came from, but before he could even comprehend his actions he'd leant forward and began blowing gentle torrents of air towards the wounded digit. Like a deaf bard being forced to improvise at a royal event, he stammered awkwardly **"... H-How about this?"**

_Either Wonders had fallen quieter, or he had been taken in entirely._

_Perhaps this, today and tomorrow, was his Destiny?_

Shuddering with ticklishness, the Bosmeri helplessly tried to squeeze her fingers, the powerful grasp of the muscular man like a vice about her frail form. She began to push towards him, confident that his standing stone of a body could bear her insubstantial weight. **"M-Mmhmm."** she exhaled airily, her flowery fragrance mingling with the crackles of the flame to relax his body. **"Sir..."** she whispered needily, pressing herself against him softly. Her lips pursed with a sense of expectation; that of a naive and nervous girl with no idea what to do. **"... S-Sir...?"**

_If it was anything, it was bestial. _

_Destiny was begging for him._

He had to oblige. How couldn't he? Could he call himself an honourable man if he left this poor woman by herself? He'd give her what she wanted - what she _needed_ from him. He'd keep her safe, nurture her, and make sure that no one laid a finger on her. The infant curls of a smile tugged at her masterfully sculpted lips as he leant closer, a sudden glow of fiery crimson compassion flashing across her eyes.

_Literally._

Stradlater may have not been a particularly well versed biologist of the Bosmer, but he was pretty certain that in most cases having your eyes flash red wasn't a sign of love or affection - or of nature, to be exact.

Now that he thought about it, just about everything seemed off. Hadn't Wonders spoke of colourful, radiant scales shielding Destiny from head to toe? Wasn't he the sort of peculiar ultra-nationalist that was so obsessed with his identity, that he'd sooner shag a rather mossy-looking chunk of stone than flirt with someone - or rather _something_ \- that wasn't Argonian?

_What exactly was he seeing in his Destiny?_

Stradlater's body continued exploring without his mind to hold it back, but like a conscience at a drunken festival he desperately tugged at the reigns and leaned back with all of his strength. He clawed and he scratched, desperate to prevent this sudden threat from claiming him.

_A sudden sense of violation filled him._

_Alongside a sense of mild embarrassment, really._

_He'd been a total fool._

The Redguard found himself caressing her gentle features, admiring the tenderness of the young girl's cheeks under the rough touch of his palms. Destiny's fluttering eyelids at last settled, sealing closed with the combined sound of the roaring fire and Stradlater's calming breaths soothing her senses and bringing her to a state of tranquility. The Redguard's palms slid away from her beautiful form, the timid girl escaping his clutches for the briefest of moments.

And with the creak and tear of the cheapest of clothing, he pulled back his arm and swung at her with a single, light-shattering punch - the sort reserved for people who owed you a substantial sum of septims, or had lied to you profusely for their own gain. Thrown to the floor by the unexpected force, Destiny blacked out faster than an Imperial with a gambling addiction when the mead sales were on. She'd be seeing stars above, even with the shroud of the forest canopy.

Wonders lazily turned from his neatly arranged treasure chest at this sudden racket, hastily shovelling the grey and increasingly gangrenous bandit carcass back into its rightful spot and throwing himself upon it to appear as if he'd been paying attention. The sudden clank and clunk of the container's fragile contents jumbling into a terrible mess only caused his following scoff to gain in strength, as he glared at the towering Redguard standing over the perverted and over-sexed Argonian temptress

At times like this, there was one word that fit all.

**"**_**Gay**_**."**

X

**(A/N):** Apologies there: This was eventually going to be a single chapter, but it ended up so long that I divided it into one more... Which is where stuff actually happens! X_X

All in all not particularly proud about how this part turned out... It's harder to get a good balance than I initially thought, and the end result is a story that's weak on all fronts!

Oh well! Catch us later for the final chapter of Destiny, where our dubious duo at last realise the trickery that stands before them!


	3. Common Decency

**(A/N):** Here we are, the finale of the third story!

Overall I'm still dubious about how this tale has developed since its start, and feel that there are significant points of improvement… But what the hey? How else do you learn? :P

Just for those of you who are interested, there are currently plans for an additional five stories following this one as well as two spin-off fics featuring different casts! However, expect a small break from writing TES for a bit: While it's fun, it is rather time consuming! xD

Also, this was the first story that I wrote where I tried putting dialogue in bold! If you can't tell I'm writing _this_ in the future whilst updating all of the TES stories, and the whole block writing thing was done to make speech clearer and thus the large paragraphs of these stories easier to read!

Let's jump in to Chapter three!

**WARNING:** Spelling errors, language, awkwardness, pathetic attempts at comedy and bizarre attempts at being edgy and original despite stating in the A/N of the first chapter that I was ripping off an episode of a popular British TV Show!

**Chapter Three: Common Decency**

Stradlater often worried about the old wives tale of funny faces remaining stuck in the wind, for he seemed to have his brow raised in a quizzical manner at almost all times in the presence of the nonsensical Argonian he had the misfortune of calling _'someone he knew'_. **"She's clearly some sort of **_**succubi**_**, you know!"** he grumbled in accusation, looming over the broken form of the young Bosmeri girl as the raging campfire illuminated her gentle features. **"She was about to suck out our souls!"**

The magician shrugged his shoulders dismissively, gradually swaggering over smugly like a common house cat after a night of breeding litters. **"Yes, true." **he acknowledged, staring at the unconscious femme fatale that lay sprawled on the ground – her bouncing green boobage no doubt perfect for cushioning the impact of her fall. Wonders sneered at the betrayed looking Redguard, tapping his talons together. **"But she was about to suck **_**something else**_** too, until you smashed her jaw in."**

That caused the desert wanderer to do a double take, his eyebrows resembling a rickety set of scales with a goose on one end and a carrot-nosed Hagraven on the other at this point. **"You mean you'd honestly let her kill you, so long as you had sex?"**

Wonders looked like a woman whose husband had forgotten their anniversary, rolling his eyes with a sickly wet slurping sound. **"Redguard, I'd gladly eat the loin-cloth of a diarrhetic giant just to lick her elbow."**

_The sad thing is he believed him there._

It was unthinkable, short-sighted and foolish, and Stradlater was eager to make himself look like the better man in such a situation. **"Who'd die for a few minutes of total ecstasy and euphoria with a creature offering every delicious curve of their body?"** he asked condescendingly, snickering with contempt and shaking his head. The lizard raised his hand without a single moment's hesitation, and surely enough following a comical beat the Redguard followed suit. With that matter out of the way, their thoughts returned to the business at hand; the peculiar freak of nature that sat among them – and the supposed succubi too**. "… She looks so **_**authentic**_**… How could she be a succubi?"** Stradlater exhaled mournfully, kneeling by the innocent woman. He'd intended to tell people about how he'd "_nutted_" a gorgeous woman, but not quite in this way.

The Argonian would've thrown up his dinner if he'd actually had one that night. **"**_**How**_**?"** he snorted with contempt, wondering if the man of the deserts was parched in the brain department. Without particular care he prodded the felled dame with the tip of his muddied toes, their carefully manicured ends causing her to flinch with confusion. **"It's as plain as an Aldmeri pin-up, you daft buffoon!"**

**"So you knew?"** Stradlater growled, their attention spans more hyperactive than a pair of elks high off frenzy potions. The towering man loomed over the Argonian frightfully; the mere shadow of his mighty pecks alone matching the wonder of an eclipsing Secunda. **"You could've made with the common courtesy of telling me, you know!"**

Wonders found himself leaning back defensively, his back bending to bizarre and extreme angles he never thought he could achieve without a healthy dose of Honningbrew mead. He stumbled away and regained his footing. **"I was giving you **_**signs**_**; your head was just buried too far into her breasts to see them."**

Awkwardly he gave him that one, slipping his hands into his deep pockets for no particular or explicit reason. Soon enough he came to a realisation, raising an accusing finger and wiggling it as if it had a lump of squishy snot on its point. **"… If you knew, why in the Crown's name were you flirting with her?" **Wonders didn't seem fazed at all as he continued his assault **"Did she put you under her spell too?"**

_"Spell" meaning tits?_

_In which case yes. She did._

**"Oh no, I wasn't enticed one bit."** he replied with the sort of forced casualness reserved for Jarls holding speeches, sex pests hunting for excuses, and in some cases both. "**Still, didn't change the fact that a sexy woman was **_**letting**_** me have a feel of 'em."** he pointed out. Stradlater glared at him with the kind of hypocritical contempt that Vigilants saved for vampiric fetishists, yet Wonders merely shrugged neutrally. **"Needs must, eh?"**

**"Stop saying that."** The Redguard sighed.

With a weak exhalation the strange creature stirred from her slumber, curled on the moonlit dewy grass pathetically under the judging glare of the two men – her cover exposed and her shame revealed. Like a dog up next at the local veterinarian she glanced between the two, no doubt hoping to evoke some pity from them with her beautiful, watery eyes.

The Redguard looked upon her with only the merest hint of pity in his expression, a strange, alien sense of anger and fury washing over his angular features. It was obvious, but he couldn't help but ask his compatriot: **"What do you see?"**

His answer was swift. **"A great stonking pair of breasts with a couple of scaly limbs sticking out of the sides?" **Wonders said, grinning with pride at the creativity and variety of his taste. The Argonian glanced at the warrior to see his stare fixed on the vulnerable woman; no doubt seeing his own version of the perfect girl. **"Hit the nail on the head, have I?"**

The Bosmeri succubi gazed at him weakly, begging for mercy and forgiveness in all but words themselves. Stradlater ripped his eye from hers and turned to face the magician, thanking the Pantheon that his ugly reptilian face was more than enough to kill his lust dead in its tracks. It was strange, yet even with such a realisation of her betrayal her image of meek innocence was staying his hand. **"… C-Close enough, I guess."**

_An appearance of innocence was the ultimate armour._

_Surpassed ebony in sturdiness, and glass in beauty._

As the pair loomed closer, the young woman raised her hands as if resisting the inevitability of a rising tide. **"T-This is all a **_**mistake**_**, sir!"** she mewled, her stick-thin arms pathetically trying to drag her dazed body away from her friends-turned-foes. Stradlater moved near, taking a knee by her side and resting his palm against the pommel of his curved blade. Destiny hid behind her hands in terror, her body tensing defensively as she braced for a killing blow. **"M-Mmph!"**

The betrayed Redguard – despite his rage – kept his hands to himself, refusing to wound the trickster and liar that had played with his wants and dreams. Like the reliable wingman he was Wonders folded his arms, taking up the rear-guard like a tavern bouncer on a damp Middas evening. **"What was the plan then, to make us drown in our own drool?" **he hissed angrily, the wide-eyed Bosmeri girl squeezing the Ra Gardan cloak that he'd given her between her frail digits for comfort. **"Or maybe fight eachother over you so you could take the strongest soul?"**

Eager to contribute to the conversation, Wonders tapped and leaned on the nomad's shoulder, entering the conversation unannounced with his green palm shielding his mouth. **"... Just to clarify, **_**I'd **_**win the latter hands down."** he whispered to Destiny conspiratorially, not even trying to hide his words from the hefty man beside him.

In his eyes a busty and confident Argonian lady, Destiny replied to Wonders with complete ignorance to the human before her – his eye like an oversized dagger, barely squeezed into its sheath. **"No, no."** she denied the Redguard's theory, her palms flat on the freezing mildew. **"But **_**you're**_** thinking on the right track, Fangs."** she added, glancing at the magician with a strange sense of understanding. Wonders made a double take to shame all other double takes, removing his weight from Stradlater's broad shoulder.** "You're the **_**brains**_**, after all."**

Stradlater glanced at his colleague to see his snout scrunched up, an unsettling sense of seriousness filling his visage. It was rare for Wonders to adopt a sombre tone, yet eventually he began to speak like a Breton manservant kissing his master's arse. **"So you're some sort of Daedra?"** he put forward radically, speaking his mind. Destiny nodded with a sly, flirty smile, admiring his logic and deductive reasoning. Wonders wasn't what you'd call a historian, but he did at least have a basic grasp of the past outside of the traditional _'Imperials good, elves bad'_ malarkey you tended to hear in classrooms.** "One of those damned things that was released into Nirn a hundred or so years ago?"**

Stradlater glanced at Destiny quizzically, confused by this sudden revelation. **"Daedra?"** he repeated, to which she lowered her head with unbridled shame. His gaze swung around to Wonders, to whom he nodded at the woman in question with honest scepticism. **"**_**Daedra**_**?"**

**"Yes, Daedra."** Wonders repeated condescendingly, making sure to pronounce every letter as to educate the buffoon before him in basic language skills. **"I'm not fluent in **_**horse**_**, but I can try and translate the rest of this conversation for you, Redguard."**

The Redguard rolled his singular eye, **"What's she doing here in the middle of Skyrim?"** he asked, prompting Wonders to nervously scratch his snout – the universal sign of someone trying to make up a witty response on the spot.** "And more to the point… What sort of Daedra doesn't slice things to bits and chew on them for breakfast?"**

**"Well **_**maybe if**_** you'd give me a moment, we can find out?" **Wonders fumed, rubbing the balls of his palms against his eyes. **"Sheesh, the people I have to deal with..."**

Destiny mustered the bravery to speak up, her dainty white hands tugging and squeezing the tattered rags of the maroon cloak clinging to her body.** "W-We are Pleasure Daedra…" **she informed, staring at her knees as if a frostbite spiderling was hastily making a nest on them. **"The **_**Daedra Riel**_**…"** she continued. Wonders nodded with mock understanding, folding his arms coolly – Stradlater simply frowned in consideration. The Bosmeri succubi glanced up for the briefest of moments, yet under the intense glare of the large warrior she quickly faltered. **"… Cut off from home when... A-After the gates to Oblivion were closed."**

**"With nowhere to run, we were left to roam." **Destiny pouted with frustration, her hefty chest lowering with an exhalation of despair. The dazzling Argonian's green scales practically shifted to a forlorn blue – _that's_ how depressed and mournful she was looking, and it was beginning to become mildly contagious. **"There were fifty of us once, before those barbaric Nords hunted us down."**

A few moments later – too long to be comical, mind - Stradlater interjected. **"**_**Pleasure**_** Daedra?"**

The magician snarled with exasperation, **"Can you stop repeating things, please?"** he asked, muttering to himself with contempt. **"Really, just how daft are you?"** he said to no one in particular, running a talon against the point of his chin. Soon enough he leaned close once more, hiding his mouth with the flat of his hand. **"… **_**Pleasure**_** Daedra?"**

The Bosmeri squeezed her fists into tiny balls of cuteness, resembling a grumpy child waiting for their elder sibling at school. **"O-Our father, **_**Molag Bal**_**, made us…"** she said, **"When Oblivion was opened… Father ordered us to find as many people of… **_**I**_**-**_**Influence**_**… As we could."**

Wonders was curious as to how Stradlater was seeing things, as the beautiful Destiny-In-Waters continued to act as an elaborate and convenient form of exposition for the day's events.** "With illusion magicks we'd take the form of our viewer's greatest desire." **she confirmed, gazing into the magician's eyes apologetically. Eagerly her stare fell to the rusted and mangled maced that hung from his belt, as a sheepish smirk filled her visage.** "… We have little control of ourselves, handsome."**

The magician's resulting scoff would put the high-class Emperor himself to shame, as he tugged on his belt and straightened his back. **"Women always line up to admire my **_**weapon**_**." **he assured, accommodating the weighted mass of the sticky green – and orcish - tool between his legs. **"Don't they, Redguard?"**

Stradlater was quick to apply a reasonable dose of snark to the affected area. **"I've only seen the one Breton."**

_Always happy to help._

Of course he merely coughed awkwardly, his wingman as of two seconds ago having failed him at the first hurdle. Chuckling and grinning to the succubi like an Imperial bard placating a crowd of Stormcloaks, he began waving his hand in front of Stradlater's white eye. **"Hello?"** he called, maintaining eye contact with the woman. **"Sorry, forgot to tell you that he's **_**blind**_**."**

Frowning at such insolence, the wanderer tried to press on the assault – he needed to know everything; not that he knew why. **"So a Daedric Prince sent you here to spy on people of interest," **he extrapolated, tapping his nails against the hilt of his scimitar with a tinny set of clacks **"and you'd assume the form and personality of an onlooker's greatest desire to reel them in?"**

The Bosmeri nervously nodded once, which looked rather peculiar to be perfectly prudent.** "Y-Yes."**

Likewise, the Argonian dame nodded – the regular two nods this time, thankfully. **"Precisely." **she confirmed, sitting up from her vulnerable position. Crossing her legs she folded her arms across her ample bosom, resembling a busy shopper hoisting a pair of Elsewyr Watermelons on her person. **"… So here we are… At the mercy of a strong, **_**sculpted**_**, experienced and mature hero… " **she chimed at the unlikely pair, blinking with awe. **"… And his **_**Redguard**_** companion…"** she eventually added.

Destiny lowered her head placatingly, her soft elvish locks messied by her frantic movements – and previous bludgeoning at the hands of the frantic Redguard. Stradlater stammered with this display of supplication, her fear and despair seeming thicker than your average bandit chief. **"… W-We are at your mercy, sir…"** she begged, her cute little ears red with cold and isolation. The wanderer felt a shudder of guilt ringing through his spine for the discomfort he had caused her as she pleaded for forgiveness. "**But **_**please**_**… A-All we wish to do is return home: To the warm fires of Oblivion."**

_For the briefest of moments, he wished for ignorance._

_Any excuse to love her again._

The scarred man's lip flinched and twitched with uncertainty, his ever-watchful eye staring off into the distance as if he were part of the cover art of a shoddy adventure novel tie-in. Suddenly he raised a commanding finger, frightening the daedra. **"Wait here."** he ordered, rising to his feet on powerful legs. Obediently the Bosmer remained seated, and something told him that Destiny respected him enough not run. Clicking like a dog whisperer, he reached for the scruff of Wonder's unkempt collar and tugged him a few metres away. Their backs to her, Stradlater draped his muscular arm over the magician's shoulder.** "… Well?"**

Wonders sneered, shaking his head. **"Oh, I don't like this."**

**"Me neither."** Stradlater agreed, scratching his scabby and furry chin with his dirtied nail. His voice maintained its monotonous rumble even as he whispered; no doubt for Destiny it felt like a minor tremor was quaking under her feet. **"She reeks of trouble."**

Wonders shook his head, his bouncy hood wobbling like an incredibly nutritious lump of horker blubber. **"No, not **_**her**_**."** he grumbled, struggling to heave the weight of the Redguard's muscular arm upon his scrawny shoulders. **"**_**You**_**, putting your arm around me… Usually means we're going to have to talk about ethics for a few minutes."**

The knight smirked, patting his colleague's shoulder in a way a wild bear would call _'friendly'_. **"You catch on quick, Argonian."**

Wonders trembled in his spats, rubbing the sore mark on his bicep that would no doubt spawn atop his scales in the future. **"Some people are simple to understand, **_**grease boy**_**."** he muttered in response, hauling the grease boy's arm away like a log thrower on the piss. Regaining his composure he glanced back at the young woman behind them – still seated, and patiently awaiting their verdict. **"… We're going to have to kill her. You realise that?"**

The terrifying thing was that he legitimately considered the option for the briefest of moments. Just thinking of it - of spilling her blood across the damp green and browns that spun across the wide flat fields of Whiterun – brought a sense of disappointment to Stradlater's mind. He snarled with bitter disgust, **"… No." **he concluded, causing Wonders to perk up as if he was a wild boar who'd just heard an arrow being nocked. **"That's too drastic."**

**"**_**Drastic**_**?" **Wonders repeated as an angered exclamation, being unable to believe that even the Redguard could be so stupid as to argue for a Daedra's life – it was like defending a murderer while he repeatedly shanked you between the ribs. **"Now you listen right…!"**

Realising the racket they were causing, the two fellows swivelled back to face the succubi. Destiny watched on like a confused canine, tilting her head with bewilderment as the duo smiled and waved goofily before returning to their heated debate. Confident in their secrecy, Wonders resumed once more with a more temperate tone. **"... Stradlater, she's a hand-crafted sex-driven **_**killing machine**_** designed by a Daedric Prince with an affinity for bondage, ragged underwear and the enslavement of **_**all**_** living things."**

Stradlater folded his arms with concentration, still finding it challenging to associate Destiny's delicate and frail body with the sadistic hellspawn that was said to be squeezed from the planes of Oblivion. She'd been so gentle and innocent; she _couldn't_ be like them. **"… Who said she was a killing machine?"**

Raising his chin, Wonders spoke proudly.** "I did."** he announced, his hands balled at his waist as if he was an angered housemaid looking at a pigeon-corpse peace offering from the local housecats. **"Just now in fact."**

_Not to mention him mere minutes ago._

**"You can't go around calling people killing machines."** Stradlater pointed out neutrally, mimicking the stumpy magician's posture out of habit. **"It's not a good way to make friends, unless they're Orcs with significant self-esteem issues."**

The Argonian quickly returned to folding his arms, not wanting to be in the same pose as his companion – that would just be weird, if not a tad bit homoerotic. **"The Daedra flooded into the Black Marsh when the crisis happened, you know."** he argued, bearing his teeth. He'd heard of the tales from before his grandfather's grandfather's time; of the heroic advance of Saxhleel spears against the innumerable waves of Daedric forces. 'twas a good day to be an Argonian; 'twas a glorious one, no doubt. **"My people have seen first-hand what they can do."**

_Some scars survive the passage of time._

_The gentle Hist can only cleanse so much._

Still Destiny sat in place, like an unruly youth sentenced to the naughty step. The charred Redguard licked his arid lips, the inane babblings of Whiterun's token doomsayer filling his mind's eye. **"People fear what they don't understand."** he said, noting Wonder's subtle – but not entirely hidden – nod of understanding. **"Besides, we're still alive aren't we?"**

**"I fear death more than I fear baking, Redguard."** Wonders scoffed snarkily, pleased with the witty metaphor that he'd hoisted over his shoulders. No doubt it was so heavenly and light that it'd been caught in the wind, for if Stradlater's expression was anything to believe it had flown right over his blocky head. The reptilian rolled his eyes with superiority, **"If it lives and roams, who knows what will happen?"**

**"**_**Exactly**_**."** the man said. **"Who knows?"**

**"And you honestly want to find out?"** Wonders exclaimed with genuine bewilderment, completely perplexed as to how he'd be so naïve. The Argonian sized the smelly warrior up with a long, hard stare. A drawn out sigh punctuated the arrival of common sense – this was Stradlater he was talking to. **"… Of **_**course**_** you do."**

It was the Crown's turn to raise his chin smugly, pacing closer with confidence. **"Would you truly kill someone you know absolutely nothing about?" **he criticised, his nostrils flaring like an angered bull in indignation. **"Doesn't that just feel wrong?"**

Wonder's baggy sleeves came in useful as he folded his arms tighter, resembling a shrewd genie if he was green, scaly and openly racist to anything with skin. He couldn't help but snicker at Stradlater's heroic and noble speech. They weren't knights in shining armour out to save the princess from the burning tower for true love's first kiss, they were mercenaries – honour was not their defining principle, so he'd heard. **"There's a **_**mild**_** sense of hypocrisy here, but I'm clever enough not to draw attention to it."** he growled, grimacing with sudden embarrassment sarcastically. **"Oh whoops, **_**silly me**_**!"**

**"Wonders, come on."** Stradlater frowned, the fate of the woman's life hanging in the balance. He may have slaughtered hundreds of ne'er-do-wells in his time, but he was adamant in letting this one exception off the fishing hook; one guiltless soul given the benefit of the doubt.

_He was being an irrational, foolish moron of the highest calibre._

_He was demonstrating his greatest, defining flaw._

_As well as his kindest trait._

While Wonders disagreed with the idiotic lump of sweat and muscle before him, he at least had some points that were valid. Stradlater may have been an ignoramus in comparison to his naturally superior intellect, but that didn't mean he wouldn't trust him in matters of life and death – he had owed his life to the Redguard, on several occasions after all. The Argonian reluctantly untied his stick-like limbs **"… Fine." **he agreed, ignoring the dorky grin that filled his colleague's features. Wonders tapped the smelly bloke on the shoulder with his knuckles, speaking hushedly. **"**_**Anything**_** to stop you spouting any more lame excuses for philosophy".**

**"Oi."** the nomad snarled in mock-offense, maintaining that idiotic smirk of his.** "I'm not **_**spouting**_** them."**

Like a necromancer at a window on a stormy black night, the pair spun on their heels to revel in the sight of the gorgeous succubi. Still she awaited their verdict, almost looking forsaken and abused on the chilly dirt and soil. Stradlater licked at his ragged lips sloppily, breathing with a strange heaviness you'd often relate to men on the run from their questioning wives. Wonders nudged him quizzically: **"She's not on the menu, Redguard."**

**"We'll help you."** he reluctantly agreed, his eye fixed on her smooth knees – anything to keep them away from her endearing visage. Begrudgingly he offered his scarred palm for her taking, his confused mind stressing that no young lady should be left in the dirt. **"Must be some way to get you home."**

A graceful and grateful smile filled the Bosmeri's slight mouth, soft and circular tears tugging at her eyes as she clumsily pulled herself to her knees. Thankfully she clasped onto his outstretched hand, childishly squeezing it between her own. **"Y-You're so kind, sir!"** she exclaimed, the genuine joy in her tone enough to rip out Stradlater's heartstrings and turn them into a bow for her flowing hair.** "I… **_**I-I**_**…"** Destiny began to stumble, breaking down into a chorus of sniffles.

To Wonders in contrast she merely grinned at him, lapping at her teeth as if a chunk of freshly grilled human was stuck between the grooves. **"I knew a **_**noble**_** gentleman would choose to make such a **_**noble**_** sacrifice."** she purred, squeezing her arms together to accentuate her already oversized breasts. **"I'll have to repay you **_**somehow**_**, sometime. Hmm?"**

_His shudder said it all._

_On second thought, he wasn't up for a date with a daedric dame._

_They were a little too "hot" for him._

Stradlater autonomously curled his hand, trying to break Destiny's unwavering grip politely. Shyly she looked up from her sobbing, resting her chin across the worn roughness of the Redguard's knuckles. **"… So, uhh…" **he mumbled, the redness of her nose adding to her charm. **"How are we going to do this?"**

Wonders and the faux Argonian turned to him in unison, only needing a comedic _'aroo_?' sound to resemble a duo of pups on the living room rug. **"Do what?"** the magician asked questioningly, rather tired of the vague and dramatic statements his friend often made.

He continued to flex his hand, yet it appeared that the Bosmeri had taken a liking to the comfort it provided. **"G-Get her home?"** he murmured and gestured, ignoring the softness of her round cheeks as she nuzzled his palm. "I doubt it'd be easy."

The Argonian snickered with the bitter judgement he saved for the truly idiotic – specifically Dunmer and Draugr. Of course Destiny followed suite, catching him as he motioned to the Redguard with his snout. **"The **_**people**_** I have to deal with?" **he repeated.

Reluctantly Destiny peeked from the snugness that her cloak and Stradlater's fingers offered, continuing to brush his digits with her own as she looked up to her merciful captors**. "T-There are gates all across Tamriel…" **she stumbled, glancing to Wonders and assuming her perverse, sharky grin. **"Made by **_**Mehrunes Dagon**_**, for his own **_**naughty**_** ends."** Destiny pointed out, putting emphasis on the word "_naughty_" to make it sound more like the phrase _'put it in me, you fine piece of sugar'_. Destiny returned to snuggling against the towering wanderer's arm, exhaling with comfort and rising calm. **"Every Prince… F-Father can **_**feel**_** us… Take us home…"**

No one noticed the smug grin that filled Wonders angular features, much to his chagrin. He snickered wryly to try and grab the attention of his potential audience, yet to no avail. Like a frustrated child desperate for a sweet roll he sulkily snickered even more forcefully like a madman, at last causing Stradlater to turn to him with confusion. Wonders tugged at his non-existent beard in mock-deliberation. **"I do believe that I have the answer to **_**all**_** of our ills."**

Stradlater blinked.** "Shutting up?"**

His glare said it all. **"I know of a gate."** Wonders noted, shifting the fury of his striking gaze from the man to the dame beside him. **"Some time ago I would go there frequently searching for reagents."** he said, the source of his alchemy projects at last revealed to the general public – unfortunately not in an autobiographical form, as he'd initially planned in his boyhood. **"Nightshade, mountain flowers, and occasionally – with **_**luck**_** – the hearts of daedra, thrown out of Oblivion."**

**"That'll work."** his Argonian counterpart acknowledged, expertly hiding her giddiness and relief behind a façade of business and formality. With Stradlater's help she rose to her feet, confidently brushing down her withered clothing. **"So long as our father can feel our presence, he shall return us."**

It was settled, so Stradlater thought. **"Then we'll leave in the morning, at first light."** he announced, crossing his massive forearms like a Housecarl on lookout. Testingly his eye met the young Bosmeri once more, who regarded him with gratitude and appreciation clear in her expression. His stare quickly altered course and focused on the dormant red of her button nose - to Wonders it just looked like the man had some sort of nose fetish. **"We **_**will**_** get you home, Destiny. You have my word."**

With a sense of admiration, the elf bowed her head – the intense redness spreading and filling up her cheeks. **"Mmm." **she nodded stiffly, awkwardly trying to blend her blushing features within the wrapped cask of the heavy cloak that weighed on her back. **"… I-I know you will, sir."**

This heartwarming human-kindness nonsense was really starting to irk Wonders; Stradlater always looked like a total schmuck when he was infatuated, and just needed to be coated in a thin veil of drool to look like a living potato. Wonders slipped his tightly scaled hands into his baggy pockets – there was no lust or desire in his friend's expression; only a peculiar sense of parental affection. It was mildly nauseating, if he said so himself. **"… You do know that it's **_**literally**_** just around the corner?"** he pointed out, clacking his teeth together loudly. **"Off White River Watch, near that Standing Stone where I blew up those rabbits?"**

Stradlater pursed his lips – that was the most depressing lunch he'd ever had; a tiny, seared rabbit undercooked and covered in soot. Wonders was convinced that his firebolts alone were enough to roast the bunny to a master chef's quality, yet he was surprisingly reluctant to eat some on that bitter Frostfall morning. The warmth of the sun was slowly starting to rise over the horizon, like a nobleman's heaving stomach as he yawned the day away. **"We can get there." **Stradlater figured, taking a few steps forward to get a better look at the never-ending orange sky. **"Let's get a move on."**

_Skyrim was a far throw from the barren plains of home._

_Yet with unfamiliarity comes the most breath-taking of sights._

**"**_**Ahem**_**?"** Wonders called for the Redguard's attention, hobbling over to the simmering campfire and yanking at a rotten-looking cuboid. With a grotesque snap he ripped out the decomposed and skeletal arm of a dead bandit, ripened since his fate at Redoran's Retreat, from the loot-filled chest. The Argonian waved at the nomad with it needily, demanding that they take the treasures home.

**"W-We'll come back for it!" **Stradlater reeled with disgust, stomping out the fire with several swift kicks of his thick boots. He beckoned to Destiny with his heavy hands, blinking away the shadowy fatigue of a sleepless night. **"Come on."** he said, standing vigil as her delicate feet danced across the meadow and she stepped ahead. His tattered cloak still sat snugly across her lithe form, leaving him light in the stinky and sweaty garb that the nobles of Sentinel would call "traditional".

Wonders took a seat on the chest with no lack of irritation, prodding his snout with the index finger of the arm stupidly as the bloodsucker - and _Destiny_ \- slowly traversed the harsh Nordic terrain. They must've looked like a right band of hooligans with their ragged dress; he'd become a mage to buy the finest of fancy robes. Pressing the arm against the floor he rose to his feet, using it as a travelling stick as he hurriedly caught up with his companions. **"What ever happened to cruising with **_**class**_**?"**

X

_(A/N): "You know when I said I would kill you last? I LIED!"_

_Well, turns out this chapter was so long that I had no choice but to split it up again! xD_

_So in other words, if this tickled your fancy read on to Chapter 4 where it'll REALLY end! (To think this was going to be a oneshot originally…)_


	4. Farewells in Order

**(A/N):** The honest-to-god ending to Destiny is here! Now with 100% less Dinkelage!

There isn't really much to say now, beyond my wishing that somebody out there enjoyed this fic! While I did have a bit of a low point with Chapter 2 in my personal view, 3 and 4 felt much more fun to write.

Oh, and we're still in bold! I'm BOLD like that!

... Let's just finish up here ._.

**WARNING**: Spelling errors, language, awkwardness, pathetic attempts at comedy and bizarre attempts at being edgy and original despite stating in the A/N of the first chapter that I was ripping off an episode of a popular British TV Show!

**Chapter Four: Farewells in Order**

If there was one constant in the universe for the duo of adventurers, it was that the journey rarely beat the destination. It was a fact that Wonders lamented with a crude approximation of a frown as he stumbled through the tumbling green meadows of Skyrim; with a strange, alien and dangerous murderer to his left - and a pretty little succubi to his right.

The gate had certainly seen the wear and tear of two hundred years of abuse, no doubt being the home of bandits or the pissing ground of wolves for decades on end. It was strange how the vegetation of the dales almost seemed to circle the inactive portal into Oblivion, as if making peace with it and bowing to the mercy of the hellish realm beyond.

Wonders doubled his pace and overtook his deadweight companions, skipping over stepping stones and closing the distance. **"**_**Easy**_**."** he smirked to Stradlater, who grudgingly assisted the frail succubi across the growing and gruelling incline.

Awkwardly he stood back as the Argonian began to walk circles around the foreign structure, occasionally crouching to fiddle with some rocks only to look up to the skies and repeat his brief patrol. Destiny wordlessly settled on a slight bump in the ground, taking the weight off her legs. With a dull thump Wonders swung a grumpy kick at the gate, yet to no avail. **"… Is this how you get these gates open?"** Stradlater asked the daedra, nodding at the bewildering magician.

Destiny merely shook her head, sinking against her awaiting palms. **"I-I hope not…"**

After a brief moment of consideration Stradlater left the young Bosmeri, hopping across the rocky outcrop and making his way for his reptilian acquaintance. He raised an eyebrow as Wonders hissed ferally, squeezing his aching toes between his fists after a rather hefty looking punt. **"Do you actually **_**know**_** what you're doing?"**

In the Redguard's presence he practically recovered in an instant, fumbling for his belt and unstrapping the pommel of the dangling _Tatermasher_. With a sudden display of bloodlust he bonked the ebon frame of the portal with a hefty swing, producing a chorus of dull thumps and clangs as it bounced back. Eventually he relented, **"Oh yes."** he confirmed snarkily, bouncing the head of his mace against his open palm. **"I'm hitting an Oblivion gate with a collection of dull objects. Come here, I could use your **_**skull**_**."**

_Charming. Mature._

Snickering dryly, Stradlater let his eye stare through the pair of pillars that formed the gate. He'd never really seen Daedric architecture in person; he hadn't realised just how _stupid_ it looked. It seemed like the sort of thing you'd see in a teenage boy's doodle book alongside diary entries about how nobody understood him. The nomad's lip flinched in thought and fatigue. **"How did you open it in the past?"**

**"I didn't."** Wonders replied matter of factly, continuing to beat a rhythm against his rough scales with the crusty and crunchy bludgeon of his weapon. The shaft met the pin of his belt, alongside the sleeping bees that sat nestled within his satchel. **"I just hung about the area, and **_**sometimes**_** it would open up and spit out a few carcasses."** he sighed, rubbing his boot across a scorch mark on the floor. No doubt one of the corpses had landed there once, ripe for the picking of his greedy talons. **"It looked like a phlegmy Nord clearing his throat. Certainly sounded like it."**

Stradlater had a limited understanding of magic – and certainly a limited patience about it. **"Incantations?"** he pressed, his hands waving about in the sort of way a poor performer would act out an angry person. **"Anything?"**

Something offended him within the last two words that had just been spouted, for he snarled as if slighted by the towering warrior.** "Something tells me that you don't quite get what sort of mage I am, Redguard."** he berated, shuffling close and patting his shoulder condescendingly. **"I'm the **_**explodey**_** type**." he revealed, prompting Stradlater to roll his eye. Wonders stepped past him and stood to face the dormant portal, folding his arms stubbornly. **"We wait."**

The desert wanderer paused in thought, the constant beat of Wonder's tapping toes gradually growing with frustration. Eventually he stood before him, trying to catch the Argonian's gaze and attention. **"… Thanks for going along with this."** Stradlater said genuinely, suddenly becoming a lot more conscious about the positioning of his hands. Wonders' stare didn't falter, and after a few seconds he merely side stepped and continued to focus on the lifeless structure. The Redguard began again, **"Look, I know you don't agree with me here, and that you're probably angrier than a vampire without any virgins on his beck and call, but…" **Stradlater was cut off by the mage's sudden change of expression, his eyes adopting less of a childish anger about them and more of an unbending and shattering _dread_. Wonder's jaw hung open as if he'd just caught sight of a woman covered in melted cheese.** "… What did I say?"**

His gob still wide enough for his plaque to be clear, Wonders grasped onto the hefty man's shoulders and spun him around to spot what he was looking at. It was strange that he hadn't notice it before, but he'd definitely spotted it now. Stradlater rose his arms defensively, autonomously stepping back.

_The gate had opened_

Through the portal could be seen the belly of the beast, its roaring maw bright with fury and desire and life of its own. The might of the daedric magicks tugged at the surrounding trees and grass, sending ripples and waves through all the clothing and hair it could find in the area. As if enticed Destiny rose from her seat, drawn to the emotional plight of the gate. **"F-Father can **_**feel**_** us."** she exhaled in awe, the burning light of the gateway twinkling within her Bosmeri eyes. She rested her hands upon her bouncing chest, looking to the heavens devotedly. **"He can show us the way **_**home**_**."** the Argonian succubi smiled, feeling serenity in every vessel and bone her body fostered.

Wonder's tail strayed dangerously close to the shins of the Redguard's legs, but he wasn't going to stop him – he was just as terrified as the magician, having suddenly been thrown into such a breathtaking spectacle. **"Can you get through?"** he shouted over the racket, his raised voice barely audible above the portal's wrath. It sounded less phlegmy, and more _bloody_. **"Is it **_**safe**_**?"**

Destiny eagerly turned to them with excitement filling her cheeks, unaffected by the force that was causing the pair of men to brace against the storm – they were certainly losing manliness points by the second as they grasped onto eachother's shoulders for support. **"Father… W-Won't hurt friends."** she reassured, almost sounding as if she was speaking to Bal himself. The winds steadied and calmed, easing their heedless assault.** "The gate is harmless. You're completely safe."**

Exchanging looks, the duo separated within an instant under a chorus of awkward coughs and nervous chuckles. **"So much for making an impression."** Wonders grumbled, tugging at the peak of his hood bashfully. After a moment of self-reflection and reassurance of his sexual preference, the Argonian glanced at the succubi – eager to get it over with. **"So you'll go now? Return to Oblivion?"**

She nodded. **"We will."** Destiny wriggled her snout, her eyes scanning the greenery that Tamriel had to offer. The trees and flowers of Skyrim certainly became a lot more interesting when you realised that you might never see them again. She scrunched her toes, gazing at the watchful moon as it gave way to the grace of the sun. **"… We will miss this place."** Destiny exhaled forlornly, amazed by the myriad of colours and tones seizing her senses. **"Its rushing water, its fluffy clouds…"**

The Argonian snickered demeaningly, following her gaze and watching the skies as its white mist drifted elegantly. His grin reluctantly faltered in admiration; he'd never really thought about such things before. **"Ignoring the populace, the weather, the predators **_**and**_** the stink?"** he said, before turning to meet her. **"… Yeah, it starts to grow on you doesn't it?"**

They shared a smile of understanding, the shadows of the valley shrinking as the day began to grow. Destiny glanced at Stradlater expecting the very same expression to fill his lips, yet was disappointed to find nothing of the sort. He looked uncomfortable, his eye downcast and his body withdrawn. She frowned, clutching onto the cloak that he had gifted her merely hours before. **"You wanted to kill us."** she noted quietly, glaring at Wonders.

_That wasn't an accusation._

Blinking with shock, the magician's heart skipped at least four beats. How on _Nirn_ did she know that? **"Did I now?"** he stalled bluntly, stammering for some sort of response to save his worthless hide. It was certainly the worst time of any to come to the realisation that you were standing in front of a god-made killing machine – one that likely had ways of reading thoughts in order to do what it did.

_Ah._

_Now, that put the pieces together._

Pathetically he turned to Stradlater for support, before bowing his head in acceptance of his fate. **"Well… **_**Needs must**_**? W-What's done is done?"**

Charitable grace flourished within Destiny, as the serenity that she'd had mere moments before returned in due time, as if it'd just needed a moment to recharge and regenerate. She could understand his plight; and his motives. **"You wanted to protect yourself, **_**and**_** your friend."**

Wonders groggily regained his composure, taking a moment to confirm without a doubt that he wasn't going to die within the next few minutes. **"... Myself, he'd just be a bonus."** he grinned, his return of character prompting Stradlater to roll his eye as if reading from a pantomime script. Wonders snickered at his expected response, hooking his thumbs under his leather belt. **"I'm a charitable git, aren't I?"**

Succubi or not, she really knew how to give the sweetest of smiles. Her head tilted analytically, her slight nostrils flaring cutely. **"**_**Saxhleel wisdom**_**, huh handsome?"** the beauty recalled, pacing forward. **"You may have a harsh and proud exterior, but deep down…"** her rough palm met the fabric of his front, which she gently brushed and patted with affection. "**You're a man with a heart of **_**gold**_**."**

The mage stared at her strangely for quite some time, almost appearing insecure in her words - as if she knew more of him than most; even himself. After a moment's pause he rose his chin proudly, his scrawny chest remaining true and defiant.** "… More like a muddy **_**silver**_** if you ask me."**

_Do as you wish._

_But none can define me._

Destiny's hand timidly granted him relief from her touch, her fingers sliding across his shoulders as she at last backed away – understanding and apologetic of the uneasiness she had caused him. Her hands felt cold and forlorn without the male Argonian in their grasp, as if like her mind and heart even her body didn't want to say goodbye. Once more she turned to Stradlater, who stared back.

_There was no compassion in his eye._

_Only regret._

While his expression was calm - if not stoic in its firmness – she could sense the feeling of hurt and betrayal he was experiencing in her presence. Destiny sighed weakly with guilt, curtseying clumsily with pinched fingers. **"Sir…"** she bowed, the gurgling might of the Oblivion gate growling impatiently. Stradlater watched on as she stepped away, the daedric powers emanating from the portal reaching out to grasp her like a wave of caressing hands at a famous bard's performance. Within moments she was bathed in this magic, drawing closer and closer to the glimmering light.

Stradlater flinched with uncertainty, unable to tear his gaze from the daedra as her dainty Bosmer form was stripped dry of its facade. In direct contrast Wonders kept his distance, watching on at a safe vicinity from his colleague. One final whirl punctuated the end of the process, and the flesh and fabric vanished to at last reveal the truth - exposed, at last, in its entirety.

_Destiny, the Daedra Riel._

Wonders shuddered at the sight of her. She almost seemed to resemble the Flame Atronachs used by cowardly summoners as distractions and bodyguards, albeit less flamey and more _meaty_.** "By the Hist…" **the lizard murmured in awe, stepping forward and nudging Stradlater's shoulder encouragingly. **"… All yours."**

**"You…"** she spoke, her voice a divine echo crossing a thousand individuals in unison. It would've been a terrifying effect, yet through the legion of voices all the Redguard could pick out was the familiar Bosmeri – at last confident in her speech like a young ballet dancer finding her feet. "**You too are a man of wisdom, and kindness**." Destiny's ascended eyes looked downwards, her form lifted a clear foot from the earth. **"… Yet you **_**never**_** wished us harm."**

Strangely he found it far much easier to speak to the succubi now that she had revealed her true appearance, no longer hiding the truth behind a veil that he lusted for. **"… There's no point in taking lives without reason."** he said, his white and lifeless eye glistening wetly under the furious glow of the gate. It pained him to know that his home of Hammerfell had been bred from so much bloodshed – civil strife and conflict over the simplest of matters. Even still the Aldmeri Dominion banged at the gates of his city. It seemed people would never learn to leave eachother in peace, so long as there was something out there to whine about. **"It's something my people have yet to learn to its fullest."**

Destiny tilted her head girlishly; as she had so many times before as a short, familiar, and innocent Bosmeri. **"His highness thinks the same... In his **_**own**_** way."** she chimed, something akin to a sly grin growing where her lips apparently were. **"Every peoples has its outsiders."** she reminded, **"Its own… **_**Prodigies**_**."**

Wonders gestured to himself smugly, swinging on his heels. **"Hear that?" **he called to Stradlater, fixing his collar with a fidget. **"Someone called **_**me**_** a prodigy!"**

Every part of him expected the Redguard to say "_That makes two of you_" or make some other snarky response that would put him down, yet surprisingly he was wrong. In fact, nothing happened. Stradlater and the daedra merely continued their eternal staring contest, basking in the sight of one-another like a pair of virgins just before hitting the springs. Wonders grimaced with concern, watching on.

The Daedra Riel took a moment to drift elegantly to the ground, forming into a confident stride with total smoothness – as if being outside of her mimicking shell had left her free and in full confidence with the control of her body. She stood up to the towering Stradlater – almost his height herself – and suddenly caressed the uncomfortable and depressed looking man with her rough, skeletal palms. They were inhumanely warm, yet not uncomfortably so; as if he was sitting alongside a warm spit during a lovely night, breathing in the fresh smell of the desert sands.

_It was a lovely feeling, truly._

Even through her daedric visage, the concern of her expression was as clear day itself.** "We are sorry for what we have put you through."** she apologised, understanding the feelings of confusion and betrayal that the scarred man must have been experiencing. Out of nowhere the succubi lent him a kiss, softly smooching him with her own bizarre taste. Stradlater stumbled with confusion as she pulled away an instant later, a sheepish and humane giggle erupting from Destiny as if she were a cheeky teenage girl. Wonders merely wretched ickily, his eyes squinting in a mix of horror, humour, and curiosity. **"Men **_**enjoy**_** kisses… Don't they?"**

Stradlater flushed red weirdly, the effect of her affectionate gesture seeming to set his mind at ease. With the same poise and sophistication as before the daedra began to float back, finally allowing herself to be claimed by the scorching realm she called home. The charmed Stradlater regained himself, watching on with parted lips as the young Bosmeri woman he knew as Destiny was bathed in light. He murmured lowly, **"… Goodbye Destiny."**

In an instant the scene returned to business, as a resonating call like the horn of a thousand marching armies howled from within the gateway – one last cry from the express carriage to Oblivion. **"Thank you, on the behalf of **_**Molag Bal**_**." **she acknowledged formally, praising her saviours one final time until suddenly her body vanished. There was no fading effect or miraculous burst befitting of glory – she merely blinked out of existence and made her exit. Her fading voice spoke back affectionately, almost sounding tearful as it turned into nothing but withered dust and soundless echoes.

_**"Goodbye… Sir."**_

Taking that as her final words, the portal at last began to fizzle closed like the belch of a frost troll who'd been feasting on stolen mammoth cheese. Squeezing shut the light faded climatically, the gusts and winds that Destiny had pacified at last granting release to Stradlater's and Wonder's lapping and flapping clothing. Within seconds it was as if the gate had never even been there, a peculiar silence filling the region as if the two had fallen completely deaf.

That brief silence became a prolonged one as the bewildered pair began to consider and process what they'd just witnessed within the last few minutes. A daedric succubi had just been given freedom to return to her home through a dormant Oblivion gate that had been jump started by several bashes of a mace and a couple of hefty kicks from someone's foot, having stolen a quick snog from a sweaty Ra Gardan and an even quicker feel of the chest of a snarky Argonian before she departed for the firey realm beyond. Wonders had certainly seen his fair share of what Tamriel had to offer over the years, but he couldn't rightfully say that he'd experienced _that_ set of events in one moment before.

Stradlater sunk to his knees heavily, the chirping birds of the local forest canopy chatting with confusion and intrigue at the racket that they'd all just heard. The burly Redguard keeled over, his large hands clutching onto the blades of grass that covered the land in its jagged form. After a dramatic pause, Stradlater - against all expectations - began to spit and sputter, hacking in disgust at what he'd just experienced. **"T-The **_**taste**_**!"** he grunted, dribbling profusely in perpetual agony. The nomad choked on his spittle for a moment, before returning to his childish whining. **"Dear... **_**Urgh**_**!"**

_So much for a touching moment._

Drawing his walking stick cum skeleton arm, Wonders prodded his chin in thought with the pointy tip of the bandit's thumb. Moving forward in complete ignorance to the suffering of his grounded companion beside him , his thoughts began to wander on what had just unfolded before their eyes.

If Destiny's actions were truly beyond her control and existed purely to invoke lust and love from people in every single situation, why had she suddenly asked them for their help in returning home? It wasn't too farfetched a theory, but perhaps her begging and pitiful display was meant to make people feel sympathy for her - and in some cases, _attracted_ to her - in order for her to get her own way?

In some ways it had certainly worked for her, what with her irresistible charms having pulled Stradlater in like a Talos shrine in the middle of Solitude. How else could the Redguard have been perfectly fine with a rotting demon - who'd probably snogged countless obese noblemen and elderly traders with bleeding gums - shoving her tongue down his throat and having a nice ol' swirl?

_Or maybe she just had free will._

_And Stradlater had strange tastes in women._

_That was easier to settle on, really._

The creaking thumb-joint continued to tap at his chin as Stradlater recovered, hauling himself upon wobbling knees as he wiped his slobbery lips clean. Exhaling with relief he yanked the dead arm from Wonder's grasp like a toddler in the playpen. **"Oi!"** Wonders snarled, watching as the dazed warrior pulled himself up with the tip of the limb. The Argonian's nostrils flickered with uncertainty, **"... Well?"**

Stradlater continued to focus on his breathing, as if he'd just finished a forty mile marathon only to be told that he'd been disqualified for a failed start and that it'd all been pointless. **"Let's just get back to the chest."** he settled on, staring through the lifeless Oblivion gate to spot the image of the rising sun. No matter how far from Hammerfell he was, that familiar light would always be there for him. **"... And then go **_**home**_**." **he settled, eager to swish down a couple of pints of mead to settle his tastebuds. He could tell that Wonders was in the mood to share some "_complex_" ideas and theories to fuel his ever-growing ego, but he was in no state to delve into the depths of philosophy. **"As far as Whiterun goes, this **_**never**_** happened."**

Wonders may've not been a qualified cleric - or his mother - but Stradlater genuinely looked exhausted, the combination of fatigue and the turn of events that had just transpired no doubt taking a toll on the scarred man's hefty resolve. It just didn't make sense - weren't snogs meant to be invigorating? He'd read "_The Lusty Argonian Maid_" enough to say that, that was for certain. Wonders looked over the detached arm that Stradlater clung onto, observing him as he tried to move his pained self. **"… Need a hand?"**

_That was sickening._

_Obscene._

Wonders pursed his snout in self-contempt, disgusted that a man of his calibre had the guile and guts to say such a bland line with a straight face. Stradlater winced with recoil, balling up a swab of spittle and firing it at the muddied ground one more time before sizing up the Argonian with a spiteful glare. He tossed the arm back to his colleague, who fumbled for it clumsily. The Redguard beckoned to him apathetically, steadily leading the way to home. **"... I hate you."**

X

_(A/N): IT ONLY TOOK FIVE MONTHS CHAPS, BUT WE GOT THERE IN THE END_

_All in all, I must say that I was quite disappointed in how this story turned out. I was really hoping to be able to explore the concept of Destiny deeply, what with the episode of Red Dwarf the concept is based on spending so little time on the idea of a shape-shifting pleasure beast!_

_Still, I felt it did start to pick up in the end. I'm feeling like I'm securing fixed personalities with Wonders and Stradlater as time goes on, and hopefully - hopefully - they'll become a lot more defined as they interact with more characters!_

_Thank you very much for reading, and for those who want another fix of Stradlater and the gang to not fear!: More will soon come!_


End file.
